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UNITED STATES OE AMERICA. 




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OUTLINES 



SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY 



HISTORY: 



ILLUSTRATING THE HISTORICAL PORTIONS OF THE 

dMb anb Una CtilamrnhL 

DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE READING. 

BASED UPON COLEMAN'S HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OP THE BIBLE. 

BY 

EDWARD HUGHES, F.R.A.S., F.R.G.S., 

HEAD MASTER OP THE ROYAL NAVAL LOWER SCHOOL, GREENWICH HOSPITAL; 

AUTHOR OP OUTLINES OP PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY; AN ATLAS OP 

PHYSICAL, POLITICAL, AND COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY j 

ETC. ETC. ETC. 



" THE LORD IS THE GOVERNOR AMONG THE NATIONS." 




PHILADELPHIA: 

BLANCHARD AND LEA. 

1854. 







Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by 
BLANCHARD AND.LEA, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

STEREOTYPED BY J. FAG AN. PRINTED BY T. K. AND P. G. COLLINS. 



(iv) 



PREFACE. 



Whether to elucidate the narrative, or throw light upon the pro- 
phecies relating to different nations and countries, no department of 
sacred literature can be of greater assistance to the Biblical student 
than a correct knowledge of Scripture Geography. Though abun- 
dant information on this subject has been accumulated by the learn- 
ing of English and Foreign Divines, it has hitherto been inaccessible 
to the general reader, from the number, size, and costliness of the 
volumes through which it is scattered. 

In the present work, the author has endeavoured to bring toge- 
ther the results of recent as well as early researches in the lands of 
the Bible; diligent reference, therefore, has been made to the 
writings of Rosenmiiller, Winer, Von Raumer, Bohr, Jahn, Robin- 
son, Kitto, &c, and in the historical portion the excellent " His- 
torical Geography" of /Coleman has been strictly adhered to. 

Extracts from the travels and researches of Olin, Durbin, Lynch, 
Wilson, Stephens, Messrs. Kirby and Mangles, Burckhardt, Lamar- 
tine, Buckingham, and Layard, have been introduced, wherever they 
have appeared to explain or verify passages, or show the fulfilment 
of prophecies in the sacred writings, 

(vii) 



Vlll PREFACE. * 

The physical features, climate, and productions of the "Glory 
of all Lands" will be found to have received very close attention, 
since they have exercised an important influence on the former 
condition of the Jewish people. 

To render the work complete in all that regards the countries 
of which it treats, chapters have been added on the "Crusades" 
and " Modern Syria," and the illustrative Maps have been carefully 
reduced from the large Maps of Kiepert, Wilson, and Robinson. 

Finally, the author has spared no labour in the effort to make the 
work a complete Handbook of Scripture Geography and History, 
and he now submits it to the pastor, the parent, the teacher, and 
the pupil, in the hope that it will be found a useful companion in 
enabling them to "search the Scriptures." 

E. H. 

Royal Naval Schools, 

Greenwich Hospital, 

January 1853. 



AMERICAN PUBLISHERS' NOTICE. 

This work is republished in the United States with the permis- 
sion of the Rev. Lyman Coleman, D.D., author of the "Historical 
Geography" referred to above. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. — Page 13. 

Antediluvian Period, b. c. 4004-2348. — Eden — Paradise — Land of Nod— 
City of Enoch. 

CHAPTER II. — Page 17. 

From the Deluge to the Call of Abraham, b. c. 2348-1921. — Traditions of 
the Flood — Descendants of Noah — Dispersion of the Nations. 

CHAPTER III. — Page 29. 

From the Call of Abraham to the Descent into Egypt. B. c. 1921-1706. — 
Abraham — Ishmael — Isaac — Jacob. 

CHAPTER IV. — Page 37. 
Egypt, its History and Antiquities. 

CHAPTER V. — Page 49. 
Arabia — Sinai. 

CHAPTER VI. — Page 53. 

The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, to their Entrance into the Land of 
Canaan. — Places through which they passed — Stations — Encampments 
— Warlike Encounters — Death of Moses — Borders of Canaan. 

(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. — Page 80. 
Canaan, or Palestine. — Its position, names, extent, and boundaries. 

CHAPTER VIII. — Page 86. 

Physical Geography of Palestine. — Mountainous Region — Table-lands — 
Plains — Rivers, Lakes, Pools, Wells, &c. — Geology — Climate — Vegeta- 
tion — Zoology — Inhabitants. 

CHAPTER IX. —Page 153. 

Invasion of Canaan Proper, and subsequent Events, b. c. 1451-1096. — Siege 
of Jericho — Conquest of the Country, and its division amongst the Tribes 
— Death of Joshua — Extermination of the Canaanites. 

CHAPTER X. —Page 176. 

From the Death of Joshua to the Death of Saul. b. c. 1427-1095. — The 
Judges — the Monarchy — Saul — David. 

CHAPTER XL —Page 194. 

David as King. B.C. 1055-1015. — David's Conquests — Rebellion of 
Absalom. 

CHAPTER XII. — Page 199. 
Syria, including Phoenicia. — Syria — Coele-Syria — Phoenicia and its History. 

CHAPTER XIII. —Page 207. 

Reign of Solomon, b. c. 1015-975. — Jerusalem — Fortified Cities, Tadmor 
— Commercial Cities — Death of Solomon. 

CHAPTER XIV. —Page 215. 

Kings of Judah and Israel. — b. c. 975-772. — Military Fortifications — In- 
vasions of Judah — War between Judah and Israel — Samaria, and its 
Siege — Elijah — Elisha — History of the two Kingdoms. 

CHAPTER XV. — Page 281. 
The Assyrian Empire. — History of Assyria — Remains of Nineveh— Jonah. 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XVI. —Page 241. 
Babylonia. 

CHAPTER XVII. —Page 244. 

From the First Conquest by the Assyrians to the Captivity, b. c. 772-606. — 
Colonies in Israel — Captive Israelites — Prophets before the Exile — Inva- 
sion of Moab — Destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. 

CHAPTER XVIII. — Page 256. 
Land of the Captivity. — Persis — Judah during the Captivity. 

CHAPTER XIX. — Page 259. 

The later Prophets and the Restoration, b. c. 606-400. — Ezekiel — Daniel — 
Ezra — Return to Judea — Nehemiah. 

CHAPTER XX. — Page 269. 

Palestine under the Dominion of the Romans in the time of our Saviour. — 
Illustrating the New Testament. 

CHAPTER XXI. —Page 273. 

Events connected with the Life of our Lord, from his Birth to his As- 
cension. 

CHAPTER XXII. —Page 298. 
Asia Minor — Graecia — Epirus — Macedonia — Thracia — Illyricum — Italia. 

CHAPTER XXIII. —Page 304. 

Acts of the Apostles. — Life and Labours of St. Paul — Destruction of Jeru- 
salem by Titus — The Seven Churches. 

CHAPTER XXIV. — Page 333. 
The Crusades, and their Consequences. 

CHAPTER XXV. — Page 343. 
Syria : its Climate, Natural Productions, and Inhabitants. 



LIST OF MAPS. 

Page 
I. The World, showing the Settlements of the Descendants of 

Noah To face title, 1 

II. Canaan in the time of the Patriarchs 52 

III. Peninsula of Sinai, with part of Egypt ; illustrating the Jour- 

neyings of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan 52 

IV. Canaan as divided among the Tribes ; illustrating the period 

from Joshua to the death of Saul 80 

V. Syria; showing the Dominions of David and Solomon 176 

VI. The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel . 176 

VII. Assyria, Chaldea, and Media. Countries of the Jewish Cap- 
tivities 176 

VIII. Palestine under the dominion of the Romans in the time of Our 

Lord; illustrating the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles 268 

IX. The Countries adjoining the Mediterranean; illustrating the 

Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Apocalypse 304 

X. Christendom during the Crusades ; showing the extent of the 
Roman and Greek Churches, and the Countries professing 
Mohammedanism 332 

XL Mediaeval Palestine in the time of the Crusaders 332 

XII. Modern Palestine under Turkish dominion 342 



(xii) 



OUTLINES 



SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER I. 
Antediluvian Period. 

b.c. 4004 — 2348. 

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 
This simple, but emphatic information is the foundation of all true 
religion. It is invaluable, because though deducible from the design 
apparent in the works of creation, it could be certainly known to us 
only by revelation ; no human eye could have witnessed the event, 
and it would have been always open to the uncertainty of human 
reasoning about divine things, had not the Book of Genesis been 
given for our guidance and instruction. 

Modern geology dates this original act of Creation far back in the 
unknown, unfathomable depths of time. From the beginning, down 
to the creation of man, it supposes the lapse of ages after ages, in 
which the successive stages of creation proceeded at distant intervals 
until the whole was concluded, by forming man out of the dust of 
the earth. 

These successive stages and acts of creation are, according to the 
theories of geology, indicated by the several days into which the work 
of creation is distributed in the Mosaic record. As in all languages 
a day often expresses an unascertained period of time, so here it is 
supposed to comprehend any requisite number of years or ages. 
Even in this- narrative, we have an instance of this indeterminate use 
of the word, " These are the generations of the heavens and the 
earth, when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made 
the earth and the heavens" (Gen. ii. 4). It consists neither with 
the plan, nor limits of this work to examine the various theories on 
the construction of our planet, which have been advanced by geolo- 
gists; but there can be no doubt that the language of the first chap- 
2 (13) 



14 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

ter of Genesis, in its account of the creation, will, when rightly un- 
derstood, be found conformable with all that is true in geological 
discovery. The object of scripture is not to teach us science, but a 
knowledge of God ; and as this knowledge is necessary for the salva- 
tion of man, in all stages of cultivation, so in this verse, the great 
theological truth that God is the Creator of whatever exists, is clear 
and distinct, and not liable to diversity of interpretation. On no 
other principle could a book have been written, which was intended 
for all ages, and suited for man in all states of his intellectual and 
social progress. 

Eden — Paradise. 

Adam, at his creation, was placed in a garden in the land of Eden. 
As to the site of Eden, there has been a great diversity of opinion. 
All the resources of literature, of philology, and of historical research, 
have been put in requisition to fix its geographical position, but with- 
out success. The word Eden, in the Hebrew language, according to 
its primary and common acceptation, denotes pleasure or delight. 
The same word came in a secondary acceptation, to be imposed as a 
proper name, on several places of more than ordinarily pleasant and 
delightful situation. In the Arabic, the term signifies delight, ten- 
derness, loveliness. Moses informs us that the terrestrial Paradise 
was eastward of the place where he wrote the book of Genesis (ii. 
8), that a river had its source in it, which having watered the garden, 
parted into four heads (Gen. ii. 10). Of the two most probable con- 
jectures, one places the earthly Paradise in Armenia, between the 
sources of the Euphrates, Tigris, Phasis, and Araxes, and the other 
identifies the land of Eden with the country between Bagdad and 
Bussorah ; and in that land, some fix the garden near the latter city, 
while others, more prudently, only contend that it stood in some part 
of this territory, where an ancient junction and subsequent separa- 
tion of the Euphrates and Tigris took place. This probably was the 
idea of Milton, when he described the mount 

Of Paradise by might of waters moved 
Out of his place, pushed by the horned flood 
With all his verdure spoiled, and trees adrift, 
Down the great river to the opening gulf. 

Paradise Lost, book xi. 830, 833. 

The original plainly says that it was watered by a single river, 
which, after flowing out of the garden, divided itself into four great 
rivers running in different directions. The river Pison is mentioned 
first as being the nearest to Arabia Petrea, where Moses wrote. It 
is stated that this river compasseth (i. e. with a winding stream 
washes) the whole land of Havilah (Gen. ii. 11). Dr. Wells is of 
opinion that this land is the eastern tract of Arabia, lying near and 



LAND OF NOD — CITY OF ENOCH. 15 

on the head of the Persian Gulf, and shows that the characteristics 
here given apply to that country. He supports his opinion by refer- 
ence to ancient writers, who state that there was gold in this country, 
and that it was good gold, that it contained (bedolach) bdellium ; 
whether this be taken to denote a resinous gum once famous for its 
medicinal virtues, or to denote pearls, as the Arabic version has 
rendered it, and that the land also contained (the stone shoham) 
onyx stone* 

The name of the second river is Gilion; the same is it that "com- 
passeth the whole land of Ethiopia." (Gen. ii. 13). This is not the 
country in Africa so called. The word in the original is Gush, and 
it is remarkable that the district which this would indicate, if Eden 
lay upon the lower Euphrates, was called by the Greeks and Romans 
Susiana, and is still called Khuzistan or iC the land of Khus or Chus" 
The same region is called Cuthah in the book of Kings (2 Kings 
xvii. 24). The Gihon, therefore, was probably the eastern channel 
by which the river entered the Persian Gulf, but no trace can now 
be discovered in the country indicative of either this name or that 
of Pison. H The name of the third river is Hiddekel, that is it which 
goeth toward the east of Assyria/ ' or more accurately towards or 
before Assyria. There is little doubt but that this river is the Tigris, 
and it is so rendered in the Septuagint. The fourth river is Eu- 
phrates. This river having been too well known to need description, 
is simply mentioned in the text. The name in the original is Phrat, 
and is still that by which it is locally distinguished. By the Greeks 
it was called Euphrates. 

The Land of Nod — City of Enoch. 

Another antediluvian country is mentioned in Scripture, the land 
of Nod (Gen. iv. 16), in connexion with the history of Cain. This 
land must have been so called from Cain's removal to it, as the name 
means a " removal or exile," also " a wanderer or banished man." 
"The land of exile or banishment" is probably correct. The land 
in question was most likely some desert region not far from Eden, 
where the fugitive roamed about an exile and a vagabond. In this 
country, however, he had some settled abode, where he built a city, 
to which he gave the name of Enoch, after the name of his son. 
(Gen. iv. 17.) 

These brief and imperfect sketches are all the geographical notices 
that remain of the world before the flood. The names of a few of 
the venerable patriarchs of the ancient world are given in the Mosaic 

* From dvvi-, the nail, so called from the resemblance its ground colour 
has to that lunated spot at the base of the human nail. 



16 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

record, but nothing is said of the countries which they inhabited, or 
the cities which they built. 

Whether the works of man were entirely swept away by the flood, 
and the face of the earth wholly changed when " the fountains 
of the great deep were broken up," or whether the ruins of their 
cities survived the desolations of the flood, they have long since 
perished from the face of the earth. The countries the antediluvians 
inhabited, the cities which they founded, and the monuments of 
their arts which they reared, are alike unknown. 

Much has been written respecting the progress of the antediluvians 
in the cultivation of literature, and of the useful arts. Scripture 
informs us that Adam came forth from the hand of the Creator in 
the full maturity of manhood, endowed by the benevolent Being who 
gave him his existence, with whatever of intelligence, of skill in 
language, and in the arts of civilized life, was necessary for him to 
begin an existence worthy of the exalted destiny for which he was 
created. 

It is worthy of special consideration that there is not in history 
the slightest indication of a savage state before the Flood. 

The men of that epoch were proficients in the arts of civilized life. 
They were artificers in wood, iron, and brass, and skilled, at least to 
some extent, in music and in poetry ; they built cities and dwelt in 
them y but these men became degenerate and corrupt, in consequence 
of their perverted use of all those original endowments with which 
man first awoke to the praises of his Maker, and to the healthful 
exercise of all his faculties. 

Some have supposed that the earth was densely peopled at the 
time of the general Deluge. We cannot now ascertain particulars : 
we may, at least, safely assume that the number of persons over- 
whelmed in that catastrophe must have been immensely great. 



CHAPTER II. 
From the Deluge to the Call of Abraham. 

b.c. 2348 — 1921. 

Mount Ararat. 

The Ark having drifted about for five months on the shoreless ocean, 
at length rested upon " the Mountains of Ararat ;" but it was more 
than six months after this, before the waters wholly subsided, and 
the ground became sufficiently dry for the sustenance of the family 
of Noah who survived the Deluge. These, after a sojourn of an 
entire year in the ark, went forth again to people the earth with 
their several tribes. 

"The Mountains of Ararat" are supposed to be the mountains 
of a country called Ararat, mentioned in 2 Kings xix. 37 ; Isa. xxxvii. 
38 ; and Jer. li. 27. The generally received opinion is that this 
country is Armenia, and that the particular mountain upon which 
Noah's ark rested is situated 39° 40' N. lat. and 44° 50' E. long, 
from Greenwich, in the vast chain of Taurus, and nearly in the centre 
between the southern extremities of the Black and Caspian seas. 
Turks, Armenians, and Persians, entertain the opinion that the ark 
grounded on the most elevated of the two main peaks, termed, from 
its form, Agridagh, or the Finger Mountain. Two months, we are 
told, elapsed from the time of the ark ceasing to float, before the tops 
of the mountains were seen. It must have settled, therefore, upon 
a peak of such relative height, as to require a considerable time 
before the lower summits could stand out from the mass of retiring 
waters ; and such is the Finger Mountain. 

The great Mountain is separated into two heads, distinguished as 
the Great and Little Ararat, which may perhaps account for the 
plural expression "mountains," in the text. The heads form dis- 
tinct cones, between which there is a wide chasm or glen, separating 
the two peaks by a distance of 12,000 yards ; one of them is much 
smaller and lower than the other, and forms a more regular and 
pointed cone. 

The perpendicular height of the Great Ararat is 17,210 feet, or 

more than three miles and a quarter above the level of the sea, and 

14,320 feet, or nearly two miles and three-quarters above the plains 

of the river Aras (Araxes), and is continually crowned with snow. 

2* (17) 



18 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

It is a magnificent object, standing as it were apart and alone from 
the minor mountains. 

Several attempts have been made to reach the summit of the 
mountain, but the only one that succeeded was that by Professor 
Parrot, who, having failed in two attempts, was on the third enabled 
to plant his foot on the top of the Great Ararat. 

The majestic grandeur of this immense mountain is described by 
Sir Robert Ker Porter as awfully imposing and sublime. " It ap- 
peared as if the highest mountains of the world had been piled 
together to form this one sublime immensity of earth, rocks, and 
snow. The icy peaks of its double head rose majestically into the 
clear and cloudless heavens, the sun blazed bright upon them, and 
the reflection sent forth a dazzling radiance equal to other suns. My 
eye, not able to rest for any time upon the blinding glory of its 
summits, wandered down the apparently interminable sides, till I 
could no longer trace their lines in the mists of the horizon, when 
an irrepressible impulse immediately carrying my eye upwards again, 
refixed my gaze upon the awful Ararat." 

Morier writes to the same effect : — " Nothing can be more beau- 
tiful than its shape, more awful than its height. All the surround- 
ing mountains sink into insignificance when compared to it. It is 
perfect in all its parts, no hard rugged feature, no unnatural promi- 
nences, everything is in harmony, and all combines to render it one 
of the sublimest objects in nature." 

The Rev. Henry Martyn, descending into the plain of Nachshivan, 
describes his attention as arrested by the appearance of a hoary moun- 
tain opposite, rising so high above the surrounding peaks that they 
sunk into insignificance. 

" It was truly sublime ; and the interest it excited was not lessened 
when, on inquiring its name, I was told it was Agridagh, or Ararat. 
On the peak of that hill the whole church was once contained ; it 
has now spread far and wide, even to the ends of the earth, but the 
ancient vicinity of it knows it no more. I fancied many a spot 
where Noah perhaps offered his sacrifices, and the promise of God, 
that c seed time and harvest should not cease/ appeared to me to be 
more exactly fulfilled in the agreeable plain in which it was spoken, 
than elsewhere. Here the Patriarch Noah landed in a new world; 
so may I, safe in Christ, outride the storm of life, and land at last 
on one of the 'everlasting hills/ n 

The Armenians have many religious establishments in the neigh- 
bourhood of the mountain, on account of the holiness which they 
attach to it as the mountain of the ark. A city not far from it, 
called Nachshivan, they believe to be the oldest in the world — that 
it was founded by Noah when he quitted the ark. The name is 
said to be formed of Nach, a " ship" or " large boat," and shivarij 
(i standing fast." 



TRADITIONS OF THE FLOOD. 19 



Traditions of the Flood. 

Every one has heard of Deucalion's flood, of which he may find 
an account in any classical dictionary. It represents Deucalion to 
have built an ark, in which he caused his wife and children to em- 
bark ; and then following them, living creatures of every kind entered 
into the ark with them. 

There is a Chaldee tradition of the flood which is more ancient, 
and more in accordance with the historical record. Sisuthros, the 
tenth king of the Chaldees, is represented as building an ark by 
Divine command, because the human race were to be destroyed by a 
flood. In this he embarks with his wife and children, and friends, 
and receives the beasts of every kind. 

After some time he sends forth some birds, which return again, 
finding no resting-place ; again a second time they return ; but the 
third time, on being sent forth, they are seen no more. Sisuthros 
then opens the ark and finds it resting on a mountain. He then 
descends with those that were in the ark, and worshipped the earth, 
built an altar to the gods, and then disappeared and was seen no 
more. 

Similar traditions of the flood have been traced among all the 
nations of the earth. Egyptians, Chaldeans, Greeks, Romans, Goths, 
Chinese, Hindoos, Mexicans, Peruvians, and even the islanders of 
the Pacific. 

These traditions are of interest, as showing that the indications 
of that great catastrophe are spread wide as was that waste of waters 
that enveloped the earth in the general deluge. 

The flood having swept away the world of the ungodly, Noah, 
when he landed from the Ark, found himself and family the sole 
inheritors of the earth. His first act was to build an altar and offer 
burnt-offerings ; upon which, Jehovah, beside a promise of earthly 
blessings, established with him his covenant, confirming it by his 
celestial sign "the bow in the cloud" (Gen. ix. 13). Thus of Noah 
and his three sons was the whole earth overspread (Gen. ix. 19). 

The following list, which has obtained the most profound and 
anxious consideration of those who search into the origin and anti- 
quities of nations, will best illustrate the dispersion of the several 
families. It should be understood, however, that the enumeration 
comprises only nations existing in the time of Moses, and probably 
of them only such as were more conspicuous, as more or less con- 
nected with the history of the Israelites ; the descendants of some 
being traced through several generations, and only a single ancestor 
of others mentioned, agreeably to the design of Moses of exhibiting 
the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gen. xviii. 15). 



20 



SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 









A. Shem. 






i. Elam. ii. 


Ashnr. in. Arphaxad. iv. 
1. Salah. 


Lud. v. Aram. 




1. Uz. 






2. Eber. 


2. Hul. 






3. Peleg. 


3. Gether. 








4. Joktan. 


4. Mash. 






' 1. Almodad. 










2. Sheleph. 










3. Hazarmaveth. 










4. Jerah. 










5. Hadoram. 










6. Uzal. 






Descendants of Joktan - 


7. Diklah. 










8. Obal. 










9. Abimael. 










10. Sheba. 










11. Ophir. 






y 




12. Havilah. 
^13. Jobab. 








B. Ham. 






i. Cush. 
1. "ieba. 


ii. Mizraim. in. Phut. 


iv. Canaan. 




1. Ludim. 


1. Sidon. 




2. Havilah. 


2. Anamim. 


2. Heth. 




3. Sabtah. 


3. Lehabim. 


3. The Jebusite. 




4. Sabtecha. 


4. Naphtuhim. 


4. The Amorite. 




5. Raamah. 


5. Pathrusim. 


5. The Girgashite. 




^ * 


6. Casluhim. 

7. Caphtorim. 


6. The Hivite. 

7. The Arkite. 








Sheba. 




8. The Sinite. 




Dedan. 


C. Japheth. 


9. TheArvadite. 

10. The Zemarite. 

11. The Hamathite. 


I. 


Gomer. n. Magog, ni. Madai. iv. Javan. "V 


. Tubal, vi. Meshech 


V. 


j 


1 J 


vii. Tiras. 


1. 


Ashkenaz. 


1. Elisha. 


2. 


Riphath. 


2. Tarshish. 




3. 


Togarmah. 


3. Kittim. 










4. Dodanim. 





This genealogical chart of the descendants of the three sons of 
Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, is drawn from the tenth chapter 
of Genesis. The names which here occur designate, however, not 
merely the posterity of Noah, but more frequently the cities and 
countries where his descendants settled. The enumeration in Genesis 
begins with Japheth, whose descendants peopled Europe, and the 
northern part of Asia. 



DESCENDANTS OP NOAH — JAPHETH. 21 

Descendants of Japheih. 

I. Gomer. Cimmerians, around the north coast of the Black Sea. 
From thence they spread westward over Europe. Others again mi- 
grated to the east, over the Caucasian Mountains, and the western 
and northern parts of Asia. 

1. Ashkenaz. On the eastern coast of the Black Sea or farther 
east, towards Armenia, whence they may have peopled Europe. The 
modern Jews understand by this name, Saxony, or all of Germany, 
whence, according to the prophet, they were to proceed to execute 
Divine judgment upon Babylon and Chaldea, in connexion with 
Ararat and Minni ; which implies that they were near Armenia. 

2. Rijphath; supposed to be the Carpathian Mountains in Europe, 
sometimes called the Bephean Mountains. 

3. Togarmah ; a province of Armenia. According to the tradi- 
tion of the Armenians and Georgians, Thargamoss, from whom they 
descended, was the third from Noah, and lived six hundred years. 
The Armenians also call themselves "the house of Thorgom." 
(Ezek. xxvii. 14; xxxviii. 6). 

Europe, the Caucasus, and all Northern Asia, are said to have 
been comprehended in the Isles of the Gentiles. (Gen. x. 5.) By 
them, the Jews, according to Sir Isaac Newton, understood the places 
to which they sailed by sea, particularly all Europe. Others under- 
stood by this phrase, the-northern coast of the Mediterranean. 

II. Magog. Gog and Magog. The northern parts of Asia ; the 
Scythians generally. In Ezekiel (chaps, xxxviii. xxxix), Magog is 
a country, and Gog is its ruler, confederate with the rulers of 
Meshech and Tubal. In Revelations (xx. 8), Gog and Magog are 
distant barbarous nations. 

III. Madai ; the progenitor of the ancient kingdom of the Medes, 
which was situated around the Caspian Sea on the south and west. 
Much of it is a mountainous country, with very fruitful valleys ; 
and, with the exception of the flat marshy plains on the shores of the 
Caspian, the atmosphere is celebrated for its purity and salubrity. 

Ecbatana, lat. 34° N., long. 41° E., 480 miles from Persepolis, 
and 700 from Tabreez, supposed to be the modern Hamadam, was 
the capital of this kingdom. The Ten Tribes of Israel were trans- 
planted to this country in the Assyrian captivity (2 Kings xvii. 6 ; 
1 Chron. v. 26), in the reign of Hosea, B.C. 721. From the same 
source came also their deliverance from the Babylonish captivity, by 
the hands of Cyrus, B.C. 536 (Ezra i. 1, v. 13, vi. 3 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 
22, et seq. ; compare Dan. i. 21). 

IV. Javan. The Ionians or Greeks, their descendants, were, 

1. Elishah, Elis, Hellas ; the Greeks, strictly so called. The Isles 
of Elishah are represented by Ezekiel as distinguished for the manu- 
facture of purple. 



22 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

2. TarshisJi. The scriptural notices of this country are twofold. 
Some passages speak of it only in general terms, in connexion with 
distant northern and western regions and islands (Ps.- lxii. 10 ;' Isa. 
lxvi. 19). Others describe the articles of merchandise which are 
exchanged with Tarshish, and its productions, gold, silver, iron, tin, 
lead, &c. (Ezek. xxxviii. 13 ; Jer. x. 9). 

From such passages the opinions of learned men have been greatly 
divided respecting the country of Tarshish ; but the prevailing opinion 
is, that we are to refer this celebrated country to the coasts of Spain. 
This country is known to have yielded many of the metals, and 
other articles of merchandise which came from Tarshish. If not 
produced here, they may have been brought from other countries ) and 
this may have been the mart for such articles of commerce with 
Phoenicia and the eastern provinces of the Mediterranean. 

The ships of Tarshish (Isa. ii. 16, xxiii. 1, &c.) are supposed to 
be used in a generic sense of a particular class of vessels, like our 
terms merchant-ship, man-of-war, &c. 

3. Kittim. This people were situated upon the coast and isles 
of the Mediterranean (Isa. xxii. 1 ; Jer. ii. 10 ; Ezekiel xxvii. 6 j 
Num. xxiv. 24 ; Dan. xi. 30). In Maccabees, Alexander the Great 
is said to come from Kittim. Josephus understands it to be the 
name of Cyrus. These various opinions are best harmonized by 
supposing Kittim to designate the Grecian Isles and Greece, includ- 
ing Macedonia. 

4. Dodanim. The Dodonoei in Epirus, perhaps including the 
Ionian s. In some texts the reading is Rodanim, seeming to desig- 
nate the inhabitants of Rhodes. 

Descendants of Ham. 

I. Cush. South-western Arabia, the modern province of Yemen ; 
in a more extended sense, Ethiopia, including Southern Arabia and 
Ethiopia, in Africa, south of Egypt. 

1. Nimrod. The founder of Shinar, i. e. } Babylon and Mesopo- 
tamia ) where he built the town of Babel, and the cities Erech 
(supposed to be Edessa, in the northern part of Mesopotamia) and 
Calneh. 

2. Seba. The Sabeans, according to Josephus, a people in Ethi- 
opia, in Nubia, whose principal city was called Meror, by Cambyses, 
after his sister. It was situated at the distance of some 1200 miles 
above Alexandria, on an island in the Nile, and was a place of much 
trade by caravans (Isa. xliii. 3, xlv. 14 ; Ps. lxxii. 10). 

3. Havilah. This is quite distinct from the Havilah of Genesis 
ii. 11 ; and was probably on the western side of the Red Sea. 

4. Sabtah. Supposed to be situated in Arabia ; on the Red Sea, 
probably in Ethiopia, or Cush. 



DESCENDANTS OP NOAH — HAM. 23 

5. Raamah. Regma. On the coast of the Persian Gulf. 
Sheba and Dedan were descendants or colonies from Raamah. 

Sheba, whose queen came to learn the wisdom of Solomon, was on 
the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. To the Jews in Palestine, it 
was the uttermost parts of the earth (Mat. xii. 42). Dedan was a 
place of merchandise (Ezek. xxvii. 15, xxxviii. 13 ; Isa. xxi. 13). 
It was in the region of Edom ; Idumea (Jer. xlix. 8, xxv. 23 ; Ezek. 
xxv. 13). 

The inhabitants are said to have descended from Abraham, by 
Keturah (Gen. xxv. 3). From these notices some suppose that two 
or three different people are intended, but Winter contends that all 
designate one people in the northern part of Arabia, and neighbour- 
hood of Idumea. 

6. Sabtecha. The inhabitants of Ethiopia, on the west coast of 
the Red Sea. 

II. Mizraim. The Egyptians : literally the two Egypts, Upper 
and Lower. Their descendants were — 

.■ u i j \ Supposed to have been African tribes west of 
o' Tib'' \ Egypt, Libyans ; but their country is not known. 

The Ludim were a part of the invading army of Shishak from 
Egypt, against Rehoboam, and again of Zerak against Asa, king of 
Judah. They were still a powerful tribe in the days of Nahum and 
of Daniel (2 Chron. xih 3, xvi. 8, xiv. 9 ; Nahum iii. 9 ; Dan. 
xi. 43). 

Libyans, from the neighbourhood of Cyrene, were also at Jerusa- 
lem, and subjects of the miraculous gift of the spirit on the day of 
Pentecost (Acts ii. 10). 

4. Naphtuhim, a province near the coast of the Mediterranean, 
west of the Nile. 

5. Pathrusim. Pathros, in the south of Egypt, and the frequent 
subject of prophetic denunciation (Ezekiel xxix. 14, xxx. 14). 

6. Casluhim. Unknown, but supposed to have been a colony from 
Egypt, who settled early in Colchis. From thence descended the 
Philistines and the inhabitants of Crete. Herodotus asserts that the 
Colchians were a colony from Egypt. 

7. Caphtorim. Supposed to have inhabited Cyprus. 

III. Phut. Mauritanians, comprised in the western part of the 
Barbary States. Their soldiers were in the ships of Tyre (Ez. xxvii. 
10), and in the armies of Gog (Jer. xlvi. 9), and of the Egyptians 
(Ez. xxxviii. 5). Often threatened by the prophets (Ez. xxx. 5, 
xxxviii. 5; Nahum iii. 9). According to Ritter, the interior of 
Africa, from which hordes of people have come at different times. 

IV. Canaan. The inhabitants of the land of the same name, 
lying between the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and the Jordan 



24 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

and the Dead Sea on the east ; and extending from Sidon to the 
parallel of the south end of the Dead Sea. 

The descendants were : 1, the Sidonians ; 2, the Hittites ; 3, the 
Jebusites ; 4, the Amorites, Emorites; 5, the Girgashites ; 6, the 
Hivites; 7, the Arhites ; 8, the Smites; 9, the Arvadites; 10, the 
Zamerites; 11, the Harnathites. The supposed localities of these 
tribes will be found more fully described under the head of " Inha- 
bitants of Canaan." 

Descendants of Shem.. 

I. Elam. A province of Persia, east of Babylonia, and between 
the Persian Gulf and Media. It represents the origin of the Per- 
sians. (Daniel viii. 2 ; Ezra iv. 9.) 

II. Ashur. The Assyrians, by whom the cities of Nineveh, 
Rechoboth, Chalnac, and Resin were founded. 

III. Arphaxad, the first born after the flood. Northern part of 
Assyria, the land of the Kurds and the Nestorians. From them 
sprang : 1, Salah ; 2, Eber ) the progenitor of Abraham and of the 
Hebrews ; 3, Peleg ; 4, Joktan. 

The descendants of Joktan were — a, Almodad ; b, Sheleph ; c, 
Hazarmaveth ; d, Jerah ; e, Hadoram ; f, TJzal ; g, Dihldh; h ; 
Obal ; i, Ahimael ; j, Sheba: k, Ophir ; 1, Havilah ; m, Jobab. 

These are all supposed to be Arabian tribes, some of whom lived 
in Southern Arabia ; but the most of them are wholly unknown. 
Notwithstanding all the researches of the learned after the famous 
mineral regions from which the gold of Ophir was brought, we must 
content ourselves with our own conjectures, or an election among the 
theories which have been advanced respecting the locality of this 
unknown land. Was it in Madagascar, in Ceylon, in some part of 
India, or in the remotest regions of Arabia ? The last, perhaps, is 
the most probable conjecture. 

IV. Lud. By some supposed to be blended with the descendant 
of Ham of the same name. By others, the Lydians of Asia Minor ; 
by others, a remote tribe in Armenia (Gen. x. 22). 

V. Aram. A large central tract of country lying between 
Phoenicia, Lebanon, and Palestine on one side, and the Tigris and 
the Taurus on the other. A portion of this country between the 
Tigris and the Euphrates was called Mesopotamia, or more frequently 
Padanaram. On this side of the Euphrates it included — 

1. The region around Damascus, in Syria. 

2. Syria-maachah (1 Chron. xix. 6), near Bashan, and the por- 
tion of Reuben. 

3. Geshur in Syria, near Bashan (2 Sam. xv. 8. ; Josh. xii. 5). 

4. Beth-rehob, at the foot of Anti-Libanus (2 Sam. x. 6). 

The colonies from these regions were— -1, Uz; 2, Hul; 3, Gether; 
4, Mash, of which nothing is known. Uz, the native place of Job, 



MESOPOTAMIA. 25 

appears to have been either adjacent to Edom, or a part of it 
(Lament, iv. 21). The friends of Job appear to have come from 
Edomitish cities (Job ii. 11). From these hints it is with proba- 
bility referred to the mountains south of the Dead Sea, and east of 
the Akabah. 

In the map illustrating the coun tries settled by the descendants 
of the three sons of Noah, it will be seen that they represent the 
three divisions of the earth ; Asia, Africa, and Europe. The sons 
of Japheth peopled Europe and the north-west of Asia; those of 
Ham, the southern part of Arabia and Africa. The sons of Shem 
occupied the central parts of Asia, and blending in Arabia with the 
descendants of Ham, finally supplanted them, and spread eastward 
over southern Asia. 

The nations that sprang from Shem, longest retained the primitive 
religion, and the worship of the true God. The family of Abraham 
were selected from them to be the depositaries of God's word, and to 
give unto the world the Saviour and Redeemer of mankind. 

Mesopotamia. 

I. Mesopotamia (from phot and TtoTfafxbi) is the Greek name for 
the country between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, In Scripture 
it is called Aram Naharaim) that is, " Aram (or Syria) between 
the rivers," and by the Arabs of the present day it is denominated 
Al Jezira, or " the Island." The Romans always regarded it as a 
mere division of Syria. 

II. Mesopotamia was bounded on the north by the Tigris and 
Mons Masius, now Karajeh-Dagh, a branch of Mount Taurus; and 
on the south by the Wall of Media and the canals connecting the 
Tigris and Euphrates, by which it was separated from Babylonia. 

The name of Mesopotamia, which was never employed to desig- 
nate any political division, did not come into use until after the 
Macedonian conquest. Xenophon calls the southern part Arabia, 
and other writers included it, especially the northern part, under the 
general name of Syria. 

III. The northern part of Mesopotamia was fertile and well 
watered; the southern, from the neighbourhood of Circesium, was 
flat, and covered merely with low shrubs. Xenophon, in his Ana- 
basis, compares it to a sea. The northern portion was divided into 
two districts by the river Aborras or Chaboras, now the Khabour, 
called by Xenophon the Araxes, which rose in Mount Masius, and, 
after receiving on the east the Mygdonius, now Al Huali, flowed 
into the Euphrates at Circesium. Of these divisions, the western 
was called Osroene) and the eastern, Mygdonia. The former of 
these two took its name from Osroes, an Arab sheikh, who about 
120 B.C. wrested a principality in this quarter from the Seleucidse 
of Syria. 

3 



26 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Dispersion or the Nations. 

The brief notice concerning Peleg, "in his days was the earth 
divided/' is interesting in several points of view; and we may now 
remark a manifold significance of the name of this Patriarch. 

It means "division," with an express reference to the division 
of the earth : but it seems to have a further significance in these 
respects : — 

1. Peleg is central between Noah and Abraham. 

Noah Peleg Reu 

Shem Serug 

Arphaxad Nahor 

Salah Terah 

Heber Abraham 

2. In Peleg the term of human life was abruptly diminished the 
second time. 

Arphaxad, the first born after the flood, lived not half the term 
of the antediluvian lives ; at Peleg it was reduced from an average 
of about 450 years to 239. Hence Peleg, the fourth from Ar- 
phaxad, died before all his ancestors, and even ten years before 
Noah. The rabbins and old commentators suppose, not unreason- 
ably, that the name of Peleg' s brother, Joktan (small), relates to 
this diminution of the term of man's life. 

We will suppose, then, that the great event in reference to which 
Peleg has his name, occurred about the middle of his life, i. e. about 
250 years after the flood. The interval here supposed between the 
Dispersion of Nations and the Call of Abraham, is amply sufficient 
for the growth of populous nations, and the foundation of consi- 
derable empires. 

The building of Babel (B.C. 2346) is the usual period to which 
the Dispersion of the Nations is assigned. 

Nimrod became the leader of a roving horde, who wandered far 
beyond the mountains of Armenia southward, until they came to 
the plains of Shinar, where they attempted to make a permanent 
settlement. 

The tower of Babel is supposed to have been situated on the west 
bank of the Euphrates, near the site of the ancient city of Babylon, 
more than 300 miles above the mouth of the river. The building 
resulted from an impious attempt to raise a tower whose top should 
reach to heaven. 

The structure is supposed to have been an immense quadrangular 
pyramid, built of bricks, and carried to a vast height before Grod 
caused the suspension of the work by the confusion of tongues, and 
the dispersion of the builders. The early traditions respecting this 
ancient structure, and the ruins of it that still remain, sufficiently 
show that it was a stupendous work, not only for that, but for any 



BIRS-NIMRUD. 27 

age. It has given the builders of it a name throughout all the 
earth, for their amazing work of folly and fruitless toil. 

On the west side of the Euphrates, at the distance of a few miles 
from the other ruins of Babylon, stands a huge mountain-mass of 
ruins — Birs-Nimrud. Every one who sees the Birs-Nimrud feels 
at once that, of all the masses of ruin found in this region, there is 
not one which so nearly corresponds with his previous notions of the 
tower of Babel. 

The following is Mr. Rich's description. "The Birs-Nimrud is a 
mound of an oblong form, the total circumference of which is 762 
yards. At the eastern side it is cloven by a deep furrow, and is not 
more than 50 or 60 feet high ; but on the western side it rises in a 
conical figure to the elevation of 198 feet; and on its summit is a 
solid pile of brick, 37 feet high by 28 in breadth, diminishing in 
thickness to the top, which is broken and irregular, and rent by a 
large fissure extending through a third of its height. It is perfo- 
rated by small square holes, disposed in rhomboids. The fire-burnt 
bricks of which it is built have inscriptions on them ; and so excel- 
lent is the cement, which appears to be lime and mortar, that it is 
nearly impossible to extract one whole. The other parts of the 
summit of this hill are occupied by immense fragments of brick- 
work, of no determinate figure, tumbled together, and converted into 
vitrified masses, as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest 
fire, or had been blown up with gunpowder, the layers of brick 
being perfectly discernible. 

"These ruins," continues Mr. Rich, "stand on a prodigious 
mound, the whole of which is itself in ruins, channelled by the 
weather, and strewed with fragments of black stone, sandstone, and 
marble. In the eastern part layers of unburnt brick, but no reeds, 
were discernible in any part: possibly the absence of them here, 
when they are so generally seen under similar circumstances, may 
be an argument of the inferior antiquity of the building." 

In the north side may be seen traces of building exactly similar 
to the brick pile. At the foot of the mound, steps may be traced, 
scarcely elevated above the plain, exceeding in extent, by several 
feet each, the true or measured base ; and there is a quadrangular 
enclosure around the whole. 

Sir Robert Ker Porter says, " Its present height, reckoning to 
the bottom of the tower on the summit, is two hundred feet; the 
tower itself being thirty-five feet. Looking at it from the west, the 
entire mass rises at once from the plain in one stupendous, though 
irregular, pyramidal hill. It is composed of fine bricks, kiln-baked. 
From the western side two of its stories may be distinctly seen ; the 
first is about sixty feet high, cloven in ih% middle by deep ravines. 
The tower-like ruin on the top is a solid mass, twenty-eight feet 
wide, of the most beautiful ^masonry : to all appearance it formed 



28 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

an angle of some square building, the ruins of which are yet to be 
seen on the eastern side." 

u The cement which connects the bricks is so hard that it was im- 
possible to chip off the smallest piece ; and for this reason none of 
the inscriptions can be copied, as they are always on the lower sur- 
face of the bricks. 

" It is rent from the top nearly half way to the bottom ; and at 
its foot lie several unshapen masses of fine brickwork, still bearing 
traces of a violent fire, which has given them a vitrified appearance, 
whence it has been conjectured that the tower had been struck with 
lightning. 

" That there are immense fragments of brickwork of no deter- 
minate figure, tumbled together, and cemented into solid vitrified 
masses, as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest heat." 

The appearance of the hill on the eastern side, evidently shows 
that this enormous mass has been reduced more than one-half. 
Only three stories out of the eight which it formerly contained, can 
now be discerned. Yet the appearance of the Tower of Nimrod is 
sublime even in its ruins. Clouds play around its summit; its 
recesses are inhabited by lions; these were quietly basking on the 
heights when Sir Robert Ker Porter approached it, and scarcely 
intimidated by the cries of the Arabs, gradually and slowly descended 
into the plains. (Comp. Isa. xiii. 20, 21.) 

The last-named writer thinks that the works of the Babylonish 
Kings concealed for a while the marks of the original devastation ; 
and that now the destructions of time and of man have reduced the 
tower to nearly the same condition in which it appeared after the 
Confusion. At any rate, it cannot now be seen without recollecting 
the emphatic prophecy of Jeremiah (li. 25): "I will stretch out 
mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will 
make thee a burnt mountain." 



CHAPTER III. 

From the Call of Abraham to the Descent into Egypt. 

b.c. 1921 — 1706. 

Abraham, the venerable Patriarch of the Faithful, lived origi- 
nally in " Ur of the Chaldees :" this place seems to have been a 
district rather than a town, and it probably coincided with or was 
contained in the modern pashalic of Urfah, the chief town of which 
bears the same name, and is locally regarded as the Ur of Abraham. 
It is situated at the foot of the mountains of Osrhoene in Upper 
Mesopotamia, in lat. 37° 9' JST. and 38° 51' E. long. 

The Jews still call the place by the name in the text, Ur Kaschim, 
or " Ur of the Chaldees," and it is a place of pilgrimage for the 
Moslems, who honour it as the birthplace of Abraham. It is now a 
place of considerable trade, with a population, according to Bucking- 
ham, of about 50,000, and enjoys the advantage of being one of the 
principal stations in the great caravan route between Aleppo and 
Bagdad. It is situated about four hundred miles north-east from 
Jerusalem. From thence Abraham removed to Haran, or Charran 
as it is properly called in Acts vii. 2. This place, which is situated 
36° 40' N. lat. and 39° 2' 45" E. long., is supposed to have derived 
its name from Haran, the father of Lot and brother of Abraham. 
It is now a poor place, in the occupation of a few families of Bedouin 
Arabs. The ruins of an old town and castle are still to be seen. 

From this place, at the command of God, Abraham parted from 
his kindred and his country to go to the distant land of Canaan, the 
future residence of his posterity. Sixty-four years afterwards, he 
sent his servant to his kindred to solicit a wife for his son Isaac 
(Gen. xxiv.) ; and Jacob, a hundred years later, traversed the same 
journey on a similar errand. (Gen. xxvii. 43 ; xxviii. 10; xxix. 4.) 
Haran is enumerated, a thousand years after the Call of Abraham, 
among the towns which had been taken by the predecessors of Sen- 
nacherib, king of Assyria, and is also mentioned still later among the 
cities that traded with Tyre. (2 Kings xix. 12 ; Isa. xxxvii. 12 ; 
Ez. xxvii. 23.) Terah, and the whole family, accompanied Abraham 
to Haran, where, after a short residence, Terah died. (Gen. xi. 32.)- 

On the renewal of the promise, Abraham, at the command of 
God, resumed his journey towards Canaan, and came unto the place 
of Sichem (that is, to the place where Sichem, or Shechem after- 
wards stood, for Shechem the son of Amor, who lived in the time 
of Jacob, probablv founded and gave his name to this city), unto the 
8* (29) 



30 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

plain of Moreh (or rather the terebinth tree of Moreh) near which 
is Jacob's well. His next encampment was twenty miles south, 
between Bethel and Hai. Bethel means literally " the house of 
God." It was first called so by Jacob on his journey from Beer- 
sheba to Haran in commemoration of his vision of the ladder on 
which the angels of God ascended and descended. 

" Hai" elsewhere called " Ai" was situated at a short distance 
to the south-east of Bethel. From this place Abraham proceeded 
still further south through the country, and the year following was 
compelled by famine to go down into Egypt, a distance of 250 or 
300 miles. 

After a short residence here, he returned to his former encamp- 
ment near Bethel, eight or ten miles north of Jerusalem, greatly 
enriched by presents from Pharaoh. 

The separation of Lot from Abraham soon followed. (Gen. xiii. 
11.) Lot selected for his residence the vale of Siddim, in the plain 
of Jordan, the place now occupied by the Dead Sea, and Abraham 
settled on the plains of Mamre, near Hebron. (Gen. xiii. 18.) 

The battle of the kings occurred soon after the settlement of Lot 
in the cities of the plain. Chedorlaomer, an ambitious chieftain 
from the region of Babylon, in connexion with Tidil, an unknown 
prince, had come from beyond the Euphrates twelve years before, 
and made a conquest of that region of country which Lot had chosen 
for his residence. Incensed at the revolt of the captured cities, 
these chiefs now returned and ravaged the country of Edom, south 
and west of the Dead Sea, inhabited by the Amalekites and 
Amorites. Lot and all his possessions fell a prey to this marauder. 

Abraham, on hearing of this calamity, immediately went in pur- 
suit, with his whole household of trained servants, and three neigh- 
bouring chiefs. The pursuit led him through the whole length of 
the country, to the head waters of the Jordan, where he routed the 
foe and pursued him many miles on his retreat to Hobah, near Da* 
mascus. From this expedition Abraham returned with Lot and his 
family, bringing Chedorlaomer captive, whom he slew in the King's 
Dale, just north of Jerusalem. 

The promise was again renewed to Abraham ; and, after a resi- 
dence of ten years in Canaan, Ishmael was born. (Gen. xvi.) B.C. 
1910. Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, Sodom was 
destroyed by fire from heaven, 451 years after the flood. (Gen. 
xviii. 19.) 

The year following, when Abraham was a hundred years old, 
Isaac was born in Beersheba, twenty-five miles south-west from He- 
bron, on the southernmost limits of Canaan, and on the border of the 
Great Desert that lies to the south. (Gen. xxi.) 

This place was a favourite station of the patriarch, and occurs so 
frequently in subsequent history that it deserves particular notice. 



BEERSHEBA — OFFERING OF ISAAC. 31 

We are indebted to Dr. Robinson for authoritative information 
respecting it. 

On coming from the desert by a long and tedious ascent, he came 
out on a broad undulating country, overspread to a considerable 
extent with grass, and affording in ordinary seasons good pasturage, 
a grateful evidence that the desert was at an end. On the north 
side of a broad beaten course he found two wells, fifty-five rods 
distant from each other, one twelve feet in diameter, and forty-four 
and a half feet deep ; the other, five feet in diameter, and forty-two 
in depth. The water was sweet and abundant, and flocks were 
gathering around to drink at these fountains. 

" Here, then, is the place where the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob dwelt ! Abraham dug perhaps this very well ; and jour- 
neyed from hence with Isaac to Mount Moriah to offer him up there 
in sacrifice. 

" From this place Jacob fled to Padanaram, after acquiring the 
birthright and blessing of his brother ; and here too he sacrificed to 
the Lord, on setting off to meet his son Joseph in Egypt. 

" Here Samuel made his sons judges; and from here Elijah wan- 
dered out into the southern desert, and sat down under a shrub of 
ketem, just as our Arabs sat down under it every day and every 
night. Here was the border of Palestine Proper, which extended 
from Dan (on the extreme north) to Beersheba. (Gen. xxi. 31 ; 
xxii. 19 ; xxvi. 23 ; xxviii. 10 ; xlvi. 1 ; 1 Sam. viii. 2 ; 1 Kings, 
xix. 3; 2 Sam. xvii. 11.) Over these smiling hills the flocks of 
the patriarchs once roved by thousands; where now we found only a 
few camels, asses, and goats." * 

From the birth of Isaac till seventy-five years afterwards, the 
venerable patriarch seems to have lived a pastoral life in the south 
country, comprising the southern part of Canaan, removing from 
place to place, as he had occasion to find pasturage for his numerous 
flocks and herds. 

He resided " many days" at Gerar, in the land of the Philistines, 
probably because of its fertility. Isaac afterwards went to Gerar on 
account of a famine. It is supposed to have been situated a little 
north-west from Beersheba, and not far from Gaza. But its exact 
locality is totally unknown. (Gen. xxi. xxvi.) 

Hebron and Beersheba were the favourite residences of Abraham. 

The trial of Abraham's faith in offering Isaac on Mount Moriah 
at Jerusalem, occurred when Isaac was of adult age, about twenty- 
five years, and was as remarkable an exemplification of faith on the 
part of the son in meekly submitting to be the sacrifice, as of the 
father in lifting his hand to take the life of his child. (Gen. xxii.) 
Mount Moriah, in Jerusalem, is supposed to have been the scene of 
this offering. 

* Robinson's ' Researches,' &c. 



82 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

About twenty years later, when Abraham was a hundred and 
thirty-seven, and Isaac thirty-seven years of age, Sarah died, at the 
age of a hundred and twenty-seven, and was buried in the cave of 
Machpelah, at Hebron. (Gen. xxiii.) 

Abraham soon after provided a wife for Isaac by sending his faith- 
ful servant to his own country with proposals of marriage with Isaac, 
to some of his kindred. The result was the marriage of Isaac with 
Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, and granddaughter of Nahor, Abra- 
ham's brother. (Gen. xxiv.) 

About the same time Abraham married Keturah, and, thirty-five 
years after this marriage, he died at the age of a hundred and 
seventy-five, and was buried in the cave of Machpelah, in Hebron, 
with Sarah his wife. 

Hebron. 

Hebron is situated in a deep and narrow valley in the mountains 
of Judah, twenty-two miles south from Jerusalem, and an equal dis- 
tance north-east of Beersheba. 

It is an Arab town, on the declivities of the valley, of 5,000 or 
10,000 inhabitants, compactly built of stone. In the bottom of the 
valley, just below the town, is a large square reservoir, built of stone, 
for the reception of water, which it collects in the rainy season. 

It is a hundred and thirty-five feet on each side, and twenty-one 
feet eight inches in depth. Above the town there is another cistern 
of smaller dimensions, for a similar purpose. 

The pools, in the opinion of Dr. Robinson, are of high antiquity, 
" and one of them is probably to be regarded as the pool of Hebron, 
over which David hung up the assassins of Ishhosheth." (2 Sam. 
iv. 12.) 

The reputed site of the cave of Machpelah, the sepulchre of the 
patriarchs, is covered by a Turkish mosque, and enclosed by a wall 
of great antiquity, probably beyond the period of the Christian era. 

This enclosnre is two hundred feet by a hundred and fifteen, and 
fifty or sixty feet in height. It is to the Moslem a sacred place ; 
and neither Jew nor Christian is permitted on any occasion to enter 
within the enclosure. 

Historical Associations and Incidents, 

With the exception of Jerusalem, no place on earth is more hal- 
lowed by high and holy associations than this venerable city of 
Hebron. It is, perhaps, the oldest inhabited city in the world, and 
still survives the waste of ages by lightning, fire, and tempest, earth- 
quakes, wars, pestilence, and famine. Here lived the venerable 
patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and here they were buried, 



LIFE AND DEATH OP ISAAC. 33 

with their wives. Here they communed with 'God, and received the 
promises and the seal of the covenant. The spies that went up from 
the wilderness to search the land, came to Hebron, then inhabited 
by the sons of Anak. (Num. xiii.) It was utterly destroyed by 
Joshua (Josh, x.); and given to Caleb for a possession, in reward 
for his courage and trust in God. 

It was one of the cities of refuge, and a levitical city of the sons 
of Aaron. (Josh. xvi. 7; xxi. 11.) 

David was here anointed king over Israel ) and made it, for up- 
wards of seven years, the seat of his kingdom. (2 Sam. ii. 11.) 

Abner also was assassinated here by Joab (2 Sam. iii. 27), and 
Absalom made it his head-quarters in his rebellion against his father. 
(2 Sam. xv.) 

Eehoboam made it one of his fenced cities. It was resettled after 
the captivity, and from that period it disappears for many centuries 
from the page of history. 

ISHMAEL AND THE SONS OF KETURAH. 

Ishmael assisted at the interment of his father Abraham, and 
seems to have lived on terms of friendship with Isaac, in the desert 
south of Canaan, where he rose to influence and power, and died at 
the age of a hundred and thirty-seven years, 1870 B.C., leaving twelve 
sons, who became the heads of as many tribes. The younger sons 
of Abraham, the offspring of Keturah, had already been settled in 
the " east country/' beyond the valley of the Jordan and the Arabah. 

Pastoral Life of Isaac. 

Isaac now devoted himself to a quiet, pastoral life, to which his 
gentle disposition and contemplative habits were well suited. Like 
Abraham in the latter part of his life, Isaac ranged with his flocks 
over the country west and south of Hebron to a considerable dis- 
tance, often digging wells for the supply of his flocks, and peaceably 
withdrawing with them rather than contend with his neighbours. 
Once, by reason of famine, he was compelled, as Abraham had been 
a century before, to proceed to Gerar to obtain supplies from Abime- 
lech, who is supposed to have been a son of the prince of the same 
name who reigned there in the days of Abraham. 

death of Isaac. 

Twenty years after the marriage of Isaac, Esau and Jacob were 
born ; and at the age of seventy-seven, Jacob obtained, by a wicked 
device, the birthright over his elder brother Esau. (Gen. xxvii.) 
Isaac had been for some time afflicted with blindness, and felt that 
his death was approaching; but he lived until the jealousy and 
enmity of his two sons, which had embittered his old age, were 



34 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

healed, and he subsequently enjoyed, for more than twenty years, 
the society of Jacob and his family after his return to Canaan. Be- 
ing old and full of years, he gave up the ghost, and died at Hebron, 
aged a hundred and eighty years, and was gathered unto his people, 
and his sons Jacob and Esau buried him. (Gen. xxxv. 29.) 

Bethel. 

But a single incident is recorded in the journey of Jacob to Haran, 
to escape the vengeance of Esau, and obtain a wife of his kindred. 
This incident is his remarkable dream at Bethel, and his vision of 
the ladder, and of the angels of God ascending and descending. 
(Gen. xxviii.) In the mountains of Ephraim, twelve miles north 
of Jerusalem, and a little east of the road leading to Galilee through 
Samaria, was Bethel. It was situated on a tongue of land between 
two valleys which unite just below, and run off to the south-east 
towards the Jordan. The place is now overspread with ruins; and 
though uninhabited, must once have been a town of some importance. 
Here are the remains of a vast reservoir, three hundred and fourteen 
feet in length by two hundred and seventeen in breadth. The region 
around, as in the days of Abraham and Jacob, still affords excellent 
and extensive ground for pasturage and tillage. 

Historical Incidents. 

Bethel, originally Luz, occurs often in the early history of Abra- 
ham and his descendants. Here he pitched his tent on his first 
arrival in the land, and called upon the name of the Lord. (Gen. 
xii. 8.) Jacob, a hundred and fifty-six years afterwards, beheld 
here a vision of the God of Abraham, received the promise, and 
entered into covenant with Jehovah. Twenty-one years after, he 
returned, enriched with the blessing of God's providence, to fulfil 
his vow and commune with God. (Gen. xxxv.) 

Bethel was on the borders of Benjamin and Ephraim (Josh. xvi. 
1, 2 ; xviii. 13, 22 ; Judg. i. 22 — 6), and was violently wrested 
from the former by the sons of Joseph. The ark of the covenant 
was for a long time here, to which the children of Israel came often 
to inquire of the Lord. (Judg. xx. 26, 27.) Samuel came here 
also once a year to judge the people. (1 Sam. vii. 16.) Bethel 
was desecrated by the idolatrous worship of a golden calf, erected by 
Jeroboam (1 Kings xii.), which was destroyed by Josiah (2 Kings 
xxxiii. 15), and the prediction of the disobedient prophet was ful- 
filled. (1 Kings xiii.) 

" The scriptural associations of Bethel are both delightful and 
painful. Shaded by a pastoral tent, on the heights between it and 
Hai to the east, we call, with the Father of the Faithful, on the 
name of the Lord. Interested and solemnized by the glorious vision 



JACOB AND ESAU. 35 

of Jacob, we say of it, ' This is none other but the house of God, 
and this is the gate of heaven ;' and, with the same patriarch, we 
there make an altar unto God, who answered us in our distress. 
We find it, after the death of Joshua, fallen, through the righteous 
vengeance of God on its immoral inhabitants, into the hands of the 
house of Joseph. We visit it with the devout and upright Samuel 
in his annual circuit of judgment. We see Jeroboam planting there 
one of his abominable calves to tempt Israel to sin, and there sig- 
nally punished by God. Our spirit is relieved when its idolatrous 
establishment is totally destroyed by Josiah, the regal reformer of 
the Jewish nation." * 

Marriages and Family of Jacob. 
The subsequent history of Jacob, after leaving Bethel, is fully 
recorded in the Scriptures : his marriage with Leah and Rachel, 
daughters of Laban his uncle; his service of twenty years under 
Laban ; his departure for the land of promise with great possessions ; 
the meeting of his brother Esau, and their mutual reconciliation, are 
fully detailed. (Gen. xxviii. — xxxiii.) 

Meeting of Jacob and Esau at Mahanaim. 

The interview took place at Mahanaim, in the mountains of Gilead, 
east of the valley of the Jordan, below the Sea of Galilee, and 
north of the river Jabbok. - Esau came up from Seir, in the moun- 
tains of Edom, south of the Red Sea, to meet Jacob, by invitation 
from the latter. The course of their journeys brought the two 
parties together at this place, which afterwards is of frequent occur- 
rence in Jewish history. It fell to the tribe of Gad in the distribu- 
tion. (Josh. xiii. 26-30.) Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was here made 
king by Abner (2 Sam. ii. 8) ; and David, driven from his throne 
by the treason of Absalom, fled also to Mahanaim. (2 Sam. xvii.) 
The battle between the forces of David and Absalom, in which the 
latter was slain, was fought in a place near Mahanaim, which, for 
reasons which do not now appear, was called the Woods of Ephraim. 
(2 Sam. xviii. 6.) The site of this ancient town has been clearly 
identified. In the immediate vicinity are we to look also for Peniel, 
the encampment where Jacob wrestled with the angel of the cove- 
nant. (Gen. xxxii. 30.) 

Succoth. 

The next station of the patriarch was Succoth, a city of Gad, on 
the east bank of Jordan, where he passed over into Canaan. 

Gideon, nearly six hundred years after, crossed the Jordan at this 
place in pursuit of the kings ; and Solomon had a brass-foundry in 
the neighbourhood for casting the vessels of the temple. (1 Kings 
vii. 46 ; 2 Chron. iv. 17. 

* Br. Wilson's < Lands of the Bible,' ii. 290. 



36 scripture geography. 

Jacob at Shechem — Shalim. 

After a short residence at Hebron, where the dreams of Joseph 
awoke the jealousy of his brethren, and after the reported death of 
his favourite son, Jacob himself removed to the plain of Shechem, a 
luxuriant valley, in which Jacob's well is situated. Shalim, Dr. 
Robinson supposes, may have been the town of Salem which he saw 
at a distance on the east side of the valley. In this region he is 
supposed to have resided about eight years. 

Shechem, as the scene of Joseph's death, had a strong attraction 
for the fond old man, who said, " I will go down to the grave to my 
son mourning/' 

After the slaughter of the Sheehemites (Gen. xxxiv.), he appears 
to have retired towards Hebron, tarrying awhile at Bethel. 

The subsequent history to the time of Moses is fully recorded in 
the Scriptures, to which we refer the reader, and content ourselves 
with simply appending a chronological table of the principal events. 

B.C. 

1728. Joseph sold into Egypt, set. 17 Genesis xxxvii. 2. 

1716. Isaac dies, set. 180 

1715. Joseph governor of Egypt, set. 30 

1706. Jacob goes into Egypt, get. 130 

1689. Jacob dies, set. 147 

1635. Joseph dies, set. 110 (144 years before the Exode) 

The ages of Levi, Kohath," and Amram — 137, 133, and 
137 years respectively — will be found in Exodus vi. 
16, 18, 20; but on the principal point of inquiry, the 
age of each father at the birth of his son, the sacred 
historian is silent. For four generations they cannot 
be known. The Scripture chronology is broken in the 
division of time by this mode of computation, but it 
is sustained in the longer period by the years from the 
Call to the Exode, as is seen below. 

1574. Birth of Aaron, 115 years after the death of Jacob Exodus vii. 7. 

1571. Birth of Moses, 80 years before the Exode " vii. 7. 

1531. Flight of Moses to Midian, set. 40 " ii. 15, 22. 

1491. The Exode, 430 years after the Call of Abraham.. " xii. 41. 

*** The Birth of Abraham to the Call, 75 years + 430 years to the 
Exode — 505 years. 



" XXXV 


28. 


" xli. 46. 


" xlvii. 


9. 


u xlvii. 


28. 


" 1. 26. 





CHAPTER IV. 

Egypt. 

Egypt is called in Hebrew Mitsraim, in Arabic 3Iesr. The 
Copts, or descendants of the ancient Egyptians, term it Chami or 
Ohemi, " the dark land/' in allusion to its dark rich soil. The 
appellation by which this country is known to Europeans comes from 
the Greek Alyvrttof, (^Egyptus), and appears to contain a root resem- 
bling the word Copt; so that Egypt may perhaps mean "the land 
of the Copts" (from o^'a for yaia and xi7tt-o$). The ancient Egyptian 
name is said to have resembled the modern Coptic one. 

Before the limits of Asia and Africa were correctly established, 
some of the early geographers made Egypt a part of Asia, while 
others regarded the Nile as the dividing limit, and assigned the 
portion of Egypt lying east of that river to Asia, and the remainder 
to Africa. 

This country is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean, on 
the east by the little river of El Arish, on the borders of Palestine ; 
and the Syrian or Arabian desert, which extends from the Mediter- 
ranean to the Gulf of Suez ; and from thence southwards by the 
west coast of the Red Sea; and on the west by the Libyan desert. 
To the south its boundary, from the oldest time, has been fixed at 
the rapids, or cataracts of Assouan, the ancient Syene, which are 
formed by a number of granite rocks that lie across the bed of the 
river Nile. The political limits of Egypt have extended, both in 
ancient and modern times, further south along the valley of the 
Nile, into the country known by the general name of Nubia. Its 
breadth, as marked by its physical boundaries, may be considered to 
have extended from the shores of the Red Sea, to the range of hills 
which bounds the valley of the Nile to the west. 

Soil and Climate. 

The valley of the Nile is enclosed by the Libyan and Arabian 
mountain chains, both of which are pierced with a number of valleys, 
crossing them obliquely, and leading on the one side to the Arabian 
Gulf, and on the other to the Greater and Lesser Oasis of the Libyan 
Desert. The western chain forms a monotonous barren dam, by 
which the valley of the Nile is protected from the sand-waves of the 
Libyan Desert ; the eastern, which fills the whole country as far as 
the Arabian Gulf, has in Upper Egypt three distinct formations, 
namely, in the south, rose-coloured granite, tha material of which the 
obelisks, entire temples, and colossal statues were formed ; in the 
4 (37) 



38 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

centre, sandstone of various colours, gradually merging into the lime- 
stone formation of the mountains in the north ; the material of the 
pyramids. 

Of this region, the only fertile portion is the valley, which is 
enclosed between these chains and watered by the Nile. This valley 
becomes wider as it approaches the north, and with the Delta, 
excepting the sandy and marshy ground on the coast, forms a tract 
of rich alluvial soil, which is manured every year by the overflowings 
of the Nile. Egypt depends, in fact, entirely on the Nile, not 
merely for its fertility, but its very existence, since rain never falls 
in this country except in the Delta, and even here chiefly in places 
near the sea. To its singularly-constituted atmosphere, however, 
and to the regular inundations of the Nile, Egypt owes the advan- 
tage of containing within its limits almost all the cultivated vege- 
tables of the Old World. 

Even in the days of Abraham and Joseph, this country was a 
place of refuge for the neighbouring nations in seasons of scarcity, 
and at a later period it became the granary of Rome and Constanti- 
nople. Its most celebrated vegetable production, however, was the. 
papyrus, out of which paper was made, and which still grows here. 

The average breadth of the valley of the Nile between Cairo and 
Edfou is only about seven miles ; and that of the cultivated land, 
whose limits depend on the inundation, scarcely exceeds five and a 
half, being in the widest part ten and three quarters, and in the 
narrowest two miles, including the river. The extent of the Delta 
may be estimated at one thousand nine hundred and seventy-six 
square miles. That the irrigated part of the valley was formerly 
much less extensive than it is at present, at least wherever the plain 
stretches to any distance east and west, or to the right and left of 
the river, is evident from the fact of the alluvial deposit constantly 
encroaching in a horizontal direction upon the gradual slope of the 
desert. The plain of Thebes, in the time of Amenouf III., or about 
1430 B.C., was not more than two-thirds of its present breadth; and 
the statues of that monarch, round which the alluvial mud has 
accumulated to the height of nearly seven feet, are founded on the 
sand which once extended to some distance in front of them. 

The Nile rises, according to the common account, in the Moun- 
tains of the Moon, in Central Africa, 

It appears, from the most recent researches, that the stream is 
first called Bahr-el-Ahiad, or the "White River," and flows in a 
north-eastern direction to 15° 34' N. latitude, where it receives on 
its right bank the Ahawi or Bahr-el-Azrek, or " Blue River." 
Coming from Abyssinia, the " White River" appears to have been 
the true Nile of the ancient geographers, but in modern times it is 
only after its confluence with the Ahawi that the united stream is 



EGYPT — THE RIVER NILE. 39 

known as the Nile. The principal affluents after the Abawi are the 
JHfaleg, and the Tacazze, or Albarrah. 

From its junction with the Tacazze to its entrance into the Medi- 
terranean, a distance of fifteen hundred miles ; the Nile receives no 
more tributaries. 

The Nile flowing from Nubia runs through a deep and narrow 
valley, sunk between two ridges of rocky hills, which rise in some 
places above 1000 feet above the level of the river. The breadth 
of the valley varies considerably, but it is seldom more than ten 
miles, and in many places, especially in Upper Egypt, it is not two, 
including the breadth of the river, which varies from 2000 to 4000 
feet. In its course within Egypt, the Nile contains numerous 
islands. 

From Assouan to Selseleh, a distance of about 40 miles, the river 
runs nearly in the middle of the valley, leaving little cultivable land 
on either side. As we advance farther north, the western ridge 
recedes from the river, so as to leave a space of several miles be- 
tween the left bank and the foot of the hills, while the east chain 
keeps closer to the corresponding or right bank of the Nile. The 
general character of the western ridge which borders the valley of 
the Nile, is a limestone formation, which contains numerous fossil 
shells. 

The great pyramid is built of this kind of stone. In the neigh- 
bourhood of Esneh, in Upper Egypt, a sandstone formation com- 
mences, alternating with limestone ; but the mountains contain also 
slate and quartz of various colours. The great slabs used in the 
construction of the temples of Egypt, with the exception of those 
of the Delta, were of sandstone, as well as many of the sculptures 
or statues. In the neighbourhood of Selseleh are extensive quarries 
of sandstone. 

The mountain range on the eastern side differs in some respects 
in its geological character from the western ridge, and it generally 
rises more abruptly, and often close to the edge of the river. From 
Mount Mokattem, near Cairo, the limestone extends southwards, 
though with many interruptions, as far as it does on the western 
side. But the serpentine and granite appear to commence earlier, 
and to characterize the eastern more strongly than the western side. 
Near Assouan the granite alternates with the decomposed sandstone, 
exhibiting an irregular and broken appearance, which has sometimes 
been compared to a ruin. On the east side of the Nile, near Syene, 
scattered about the foot of the mountains, and occasionally close to 
the river, are those extensive granite quarries which furnished the 
ancient Egyptians with materials for their colossal statues and 
obelisks. 

The eastern range leaves the banks of the Nile at a higher or 
more southern point than the west ridge. From Mount Mokattem, 



40 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

near Cairo, it turns off abruptly to the east, and under the name of 
Jel-el-Attaka runs to the Red Sea, near Suez. North of it the 
sands of the desert of Suez spread close to the eastern skirts of the 
Delta. 

The Nile issuing from the valley, a few miles north of Cairo, 
enters the wide low plain which, from its triangular form, and its 
resemblance to the letter A, received from the Greeks the name of 
the Delta. The river divides into two branches, that of Rosetta or 
old Canopic, and that of Damiat or Phatnitic. The figure of the 
Delta is now determined by these two branches, although the culti- 
vated plain known by that name extends considerably beyond to the 
east and west, as far as the sandy desert on each side. In ancient 
times, the triangle of the Delta was much more obtuse at its apex, 
as its right side was formed by the Pelusiac branch, which detaching 
itself from the Nile % higher up than the Damiat branch, flowed to 
Pelusium, at the eastern extremity of Lake Menzaleh. This branch 
is now in a great measure choked up, though it still serves partly for 
the purpose of irrigation. The greatest breadth of the Delta, or 
cultivated plain of Lower Egypt, is about eighty miles from east to 
west ; its length from the bifurcation of the river to the sea is about 
ninety. The interior of the country, which is covered with fields, 
orchards, and plantations, exhibits different aspects according to the 
various seasons. The rise of the Nile, occasioned by the periodical 
rains of Central Africa, begins in June about the summer solstice, 
and it continues to increase till September, overflowing the lowlands 
along its course. The Delta then looks like an immense marsh, 
interspersed with numerous islands, with villages, towns, and planta- 
tions of trees just above the water. Should the Nile rise a few feet 
above its customary elevation, the inundation sweeps away the mud- 
built cottages of the Arabs, drowns their cattle, and involves the 
whole population in ruin. Again, should it fall short of the ordi- 
nary height, bad crops and dearth are the consequences. The 
inundations having remained stationary for a few days, begin to 
subside, and about the end of November most of the fields are left 
dry, and covered with a fresh layer of rich brown slime ; this is the 
time when the lands are put under culture. During our winter 
months, which are the spring of Egypt, the Delta, as well as the 
valley of the Nile, looks like a delightful garden, smiling with 
verdure, and enamelled with the blossoms of trees and plants. 
Later in the year the soil becomes parched and dusty ; and in May 
the suffocating khamseen begins to blow frequently from the south, 
sweeping along the fine sand, and causing various diseases, until the 
rising of the beneficent river comes again to refresh the land. 
Showers are very rare in Egypt, except on the sea-coast; it rains 
three or four times in the year at Cairo, and once or twice in Upper 
Egypt, but perhaps not every year. The nights, however, are cool, 



THE LAND OF GOSHEN. 41 

and tbe dews heavy. Strong winds blow from the north, during the 
summer, at the period of the inundation, and are very useful in 
propelling vessels up the Nile against the current. 

It is generally assumed that the Delta has been formed, or at 
least considerably enlarged, by the alluvial soil of the Nile. This 
was already the belief in the time of Herodotus. The advance of 
the coast since then does not appear to have been very great. If we 
may judge from the position of the old towns mentioned by the 
Greek geographers, on the side of Thamiatis, the old Damietta, the 
sea has not retired above two miles. The time at which the Delta 
may be supposed to have been a gulf of the sea, must be placed 
long previous to the historical period. At present, it seems certain 
that the coast of the Delta does not advance, and the currents which 
sweep along the north coast of Africa must prevent any permanent 
accession of alluvial soil to the Egyptian shore. The gradual eleva- 
tion of the soil of the Delta and valley of the Nile has also been 
much exaggerated. It does not appear to have risen above seven 
or eight feet since the time of the Ptolemies, and the bed of the river 
has also risen in proportion. The height of the inundation requisite 
for the irrigation of the land, making allowance for the difference 
of measures, appears to be nearly the same as in the time of Hero- 
dotus. The vertical increase of the cultivated soil must not be 
confounded with the accumulation of sand in some particular places, 
as round the great sphinx, &c, which has been in many instances 
the work of the wind. 

The Land of Goshen. 

On going down into Egypt, the whole caravan of Jacob and his 
sons, with their families, halted on the eastern borders of the land 
of Goshen, and sent forward one of their number to notify the 
governor of their coming. Joseph hastened from the court of 
Pharaoh to meet his brethren in the land of Goshen. This province 
now became the residence of the descendants of Jacob for two hun- 
dred years. Here, in process of time, they were subjected, for more 
than eighty years, to a cruel oppression under Egyptian taskmasters. 

Here were wrought those stupendous miracles, denominated the 
Plagues of Egypt, which subdued the proud heart of Pharaoh, and 
compelled him to let the people go according to the Lord's command. 
Where then was the land of Goshen ? 

The river Nile, at a great distance from the sea, divides into 
several branches, and finally discharges its waters into the Mediter- 
ranean, through several separate mouths at a distance from each 
other. From the eastern branch of the Nile, at some distance from 
the sea, a broad valley runs off in a south-east direction, towards the 
head waters of the Red Sea. 

This vallev, fertilised by the inundations of the Nile, and over- 
4* 



42 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

spread with verdure, afforded pasture-ground for flocks and herds, 
while its rich alluvial soil yielded in great abundance the various 
productions of the country. Through this valley ran an ancient 
canal, connecting the waters of the Nile with the Red Sea, and 
commanding to a great extent the commerce of the East. 

The country adjacent remains to this day an important province 
of Egypt. 

Here was the land of Goshen, where Joseph settled his brethren. 
It comprised the land lying on the banks of the eastern arm of the 
Nile, and extended eastward to the Arabian desert. 

Though itself almost surrounded by a desert waste, it had very 
fruitful districts, and yielded abundant pasturage. 

It was therefore suited to the sons of Jacob, " whose trade had 
been about cattle from their youth" (Gen. xlvi. 34); it was also 
one of the richest provinces of the kingdom. He "gave them a 
possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land" (Gen. 
xlvii. 11), which yielded in abundance the productions of the 
country, and was " as a garden of herbs." (Numb. xi. 5 ; Deut. 
xi. 10.) 

Pharaoh's Treasure Cities, Pithom and Raamses. 

Pi thorn was situated at a little distance eastward of the right 
branch of the Nile, and near the canal which connected the river 
with the Red Sea. Pithom is indisputably the Patumus of Herodo- 
tus, who says that the waters of the Nile were received into this 
canal, a little above the city of Bubastis, near the Arabian city Pa- 
tumus, but discharged themselves into the Red Sea. 

The canal, according to Strabo, was one hundred feet wide, and 
sufficiently deep to float large ships. It was built about 600 years 
B.C., by Pharaoh-Necho, by whom Josiah was slain at Megiddo. 
(2 Kings xxiii. 29, 30 ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 22.) Herodotus gives the 
following account of the construction of this ancient canal : — 

" To this king (Psammitichus) succeeded his son Neeo, who_was 
the first to undertake a canal leading into the Red Sea, and which 
after him Darius carried on; it extends a distance of four days' voy- 
age, and its breadth is such that two galleys may work their oars 
abreast in it. 

" The canal derives its water from the Nile, a short distance above 
Bubastis (Pibeseth), near an Arabian town called Patumus (Pi- 
thom) : it discharges itself into the Red Sea. The excavation was 
commenced on that part of the Egyptian plain which borders on 
Arabia. The mountain which stretches towards Memphis, and which 
contains the quarries, is above the plain at no great distance. 

" The canal, commencing at the foot of this hill, was continued 
for some length, from west to east, and then turning through the 
defiles, left the mountains, and was carried southward into the Ara- 



HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 43 

bian Gulf. The shortest track from the Northern Sea to the Red 
Sea, which is the same as the Southern Sea, passes by Mount Cas- 
sius, which divides Egypt from Syria; for this mountain is but 1,000 
furlongs from the Arabian Gulf. But the canal is so much longer 
than this, as it is more tortuous. 

" In digging this canal, in the reign of Neco, 120,000 Egyptians 
perished. He desisted in the midst of the work, being opposed by 
an oracular prediction, which declared that i he wrought for a bar- 
barian/ 

" Having desisted from this work, Neco betook himself to military 
exploits. He, therefore, constructed galleys, some on the Northern 
Sea, and some on the Arabian Gulf for the Red Sea. Of these 
vessels the stocks (docks) may yet be seen. The fleets he employed 
as occasion served. Neco, invading the Syrians (Jews of Syria), 
overthrew them at Magdolus (Megiddo), and then took Cadytes 
(Jerusalem the Holy), a great city of Syria/ ' 

Raamses, called also Rameses, was, like Pithom, a fortified city, 
and the metropolis of Goshen. It was situated in the great valley, 
near the head of the flood-waters of the Nile, about midway between 
the Nile and the Red Sea, at the distance of forty miles or more from 
it. At a later period, Rameses took the name of Heroopolis, the 
city of Heroes. In the neighbourhood of what are now called the 
bitter lakes, travellers have discovered an extensive heap of ruins, 
which the Arabs denominate Abu Keisheid, indicating the position 
of this ancient city. 

Rameses, the metropolis of Goshen, became the rendezvous of the 
children of Israel, previous to their departure from Egypt. From 
hence they began their flight from the bondage of Pharaoh. The 
city naturally gave its name to the surrounding country. The sacred 
historian therefore speaks of the land of Rameses as synonymous 
with the land of Goshen. (Gen. xlvii. 11.) 

Origin and History of the Egyptians. 

i. Recent investigations have tended to show that the ancient 
Egyptians were a Caucasian race, and that the civilization of Egypt 
proceeded, not from Ethiopia, down the valley of the Nile, as has 
•generally been supposed, but in an opposite direction, from north to 
south. The government of Egypt appears to have been at first a 
hierarchy, successively composed of the priests of one or other of the 
principal deities, but its duration is uncertain. We next come to 
the kings, the first of whom, by universal consent, was Menes. The 
records of the Egyptian priests, as handed down to us by Herodotus, 
Manetho, Eratosthenes, and others, place the era of this monarch 
about 2320 B.C., in which year he is supposed to have ascended the 
throne. 

II. The immediate successors of Menes are unknown till we come 



44 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

to Suphis, and his brother or brothers, to whom the great pyramid is 
attributed by some, and who are supposed to be the same as the 
Cheops and Cephren of Herodotus, although that historian has placed 
them much later, after Sesostris and Moeris. Abraham visited Egypt 
about 1920 B.C., and we have the testimony of Scripture as to the 
high and flourishing state of the country at that early period. The 
Sacred Writings call the kings of Egypt indiscriminately Pharaohs, 
which is now ascertained to be, not the proper name of the individual 
monarch, but a prefix, like that of Ccesar and Augustas, given to the 
Roman emperors. 

in. Little or nothing is known of several successive dynasties, 
which were probably merely contemporaneous ones, reigning over 
various parts of the country, until we come to Osirtasen I., of the 
sixteenth dynasty, who began to reign about 1740 B.C. Very few 
monuments remain of a date prior to his reign. The obelisk of 
Heliopolis bears the name of Osirtasen. Under the sixteenth dy- 
nasty, about 1706 B.C., Joseph, and afterwards Jacob and his family, 
came to Egypt, where their descendants settled and multiplied, in the 
land of Goshen in Lower Egypt. Joseph died at the age of 110 
years, under the seventeenth dynasty, which reigned from 1651 to 
1575 b.c. 

IV. About 1575 B.C., " there arose a new king, who knew not 
Joseph." This was the head of the eighteenth dynasty from Dios- 
polis or Thebes, which dynasty reigned 340 years, according to Eu- 
sebius and other chroniclers, and which contains the names of the 
most illustrious sovereigns of ancient Egypt. It appears probable 
that this dynasty was the continuation of the line of the old Dios- 
politan kings, who are mentioned as having reigned before Osir- 
tasen I., which line may have been dispossessed, by some revolution, 
of the throne, or, at least, of the greater part of the country, which 
was occupied by a new race from Lower Egypt during the sixteenth 
and seventeenth dynasties. 

Y. The irruption of the Hyksos, or shepherds, is supposed by 
some to have occurred during this period. Manetho's seventeenth 
dynasty consists of shepherd kings, who are said to have reigned at 
Memphis. These shepherds, who are represented as people with 
red hair and blue eyes, came from the north-east, perhaps from the 
mountains of Assyria. They conquered or overran the whole coun- 
try, committing the greatest ravages, and at last settled in Lower 
Egypt, where they had kings of their own race. They were finally 
expelled by Tuthmosis or Thoihmes /., of the eighteenth dynasty. 
The flight of Moses falls under the reign of this king, 1531 B.C. ; 
and the Exodus of the Israelites, B.C. 1491, under that of Thoihmes III. , 
about four hundred and thirty years after the visit of Abraham to 
Egypt. The Scripture says that Pharaoh perished in the pursuit 
of the Israelites, and it is remarkable that Amvnoph II , the son and 



HISTORY OF THE EGYPTIANS. 45 

successor of Thothmes, is represented in a drawing at Thebes as 
having come to the throne very young, and under the tutelage of his 
mother. 

VI. Rameses II. , or the Great, son of Osiris I, ascended the 
throne about 1350 B.C., and reigned above forty years. This is 
supposed to be the Sesostris or Sesoosis of the Greek historians. 
The monuments prove him to have been one of the most warlike 
kings of ancient Egypt • and it is probable from these that his cam- 
paigns extended to Asia, perhaps against the monarchs of Assyria. 
The nineteenth dynasty, also of Diospolitans, began about 1270 B.C., 
and reigned till 1170. During this period the war of Troy took 
place, in the reign of a Rameses, supposed to be the fifth of that 
name, according to Pliny. Herodotus and Diodorus give King Pro- 
teus as contemporary with the war of Troy. Of the twentieth and 
twenty-first dynasties little is known, and it is curious that from the 
Exodus till Solomon's time, a period of nearly five centuries, no 
mention is made in the Scriptures of Egypt, which proves that the 
storm of war, if such there was, passed off either to the east of Pa- 
lestine, or that the Egyptian conquerors followed the maritime road 
by Gaza and the Phoenician coast, leaving the high land of Judea to 
their right. 

VII. The twenty-second dynasty, beginning with Sesonchis or She- 
sJionk, commences about 978 B.C. This monarch is the Shishak of 
Scripture, at whose court Jeroboam took refuge, and whose daughter 
he married; and who, after Solomon's death, plundered the temple 
of Jerusalem. The twenty-third dynasty, called Diospolitan, like the 
preceding, began about 908 B.C., with Osorkon II Homer is be- 
lieved to have flourished about this time, and he speaks of Egypt 
under its Greek name. 

The twenty-fourth dynasty, which is called Saite, from Sals in 
Lower Egypt, begins with the Bocchoris of Manetho, about 812 B.C. 
His phonetic name is Bakhor, or Pehor. A monarch named Sabacos, 
in phonetic Sabakoph, begins the twenty-fifth dynasty of Ethiopians, 
who about this time invaded Egypt, or at least Upper Egypt. Teh- 
rale or Tirhakah, one of his successors, attacked Sennacherib, 710 B.C. 
SethoSj a priest of Vulcan, became king, and ruled at Memphis con- 
temporary with Tirhakah. 

vni. After the death of Sethos, a great confusion, or anarchy, 
took place. At last twelve chiefs, or monarchs, assembled at Mem- 
phis, and took the direction of affairs, which they retained for fifteen 
years, when Psamatik Z, or Psammitichus, the son of Nechao, or 
Necos, who had been put to death by Sabacos, became, by the aid 
of Greek mercenaries, king of all Egypt, about 670 B.C. His son, 
Necos II., is the Pharaoh-Necho of Scripture, who defeated and slew 
Josiah, King of Judah, 610 B.C. He also began the canal that 
joined the eastern branch of the Nile with the Arabian Gulf. His 



46 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

successor, Psamatik IT., was followed by Psamatik III. ; supposed 
by some to be the Apries of Manetho, and the Pharaoh Hophra of 
Scripture, who defeated the Phoenicians, took Sidon, and invaded 
Cyprus, which was finally subjected by Amdsis, who succeeded him 
on the throne. 

IX. The reign of Amdsis lasted forty-four years, according to a 
date on the monuments. His successor, Psamenitus, reigned only 
six months, when Egypt was invaded by Cambyses, 525 B.C., who 
overran and ravaged the country, but lost the greater part of his 
army in the neighbouring deserts, when seeking, for the purpose of 
plunder, the Temple of Jupiter Ammon. The twenty-seventh dy- 
nasty includes the Persian kings, from Cambyses to Darius Nothus, 
during which time Egypt was a province, though a very unruly one, 
of the Persian monarchy. It was during this period that Herodotus 
visited Egypt. 

x. After several revolts, the Egyptians succeeded in placing 
Amyrtceus or Aomahorte, a Saite, on the throne, about 414 B.C. This 
king alone constitutes the twenty-eighth dynasty. He was succeeded 
by the twenty-ninth dynasty of Mendesians, who defended Egypt 
against the repeated attacks of the Persians, with the aid of Greek 
auxiliaries under Agesilaus and others. At last, Nectanebus, being 
defeated by Ochus, fled into Ethiopia, 340 B.C., and Egypt fell again 
under the yoke of the Persians. The Persians were succeeded by 
the Macedonians, who, after the death of Alexander, founded the 
dynasty of the Ptolemies or Lagidse, who ruled over Egypt for nearly 
three hundred years, and restored it to a considerable degree of 
prosperity. At the death of Cleopatra, 30 B.C. Egypt was reduced 
to a Roman province by Augustus. 

Antiquities of Pggpt. 

Under this head we will briefly notice merely a few of the more 
prominent objects of interest, in this remarkable country. 

Pyramids. — The Pyramids of Egypt, especially the two largest 
of the pyramids at Geezeh, are the most stupendous masses of build- 
ing in stone that human labour has ever been known to accomplish ; 
and we have records of their having been objects of wonder and curi- 
osity from the age of Herodotus, who was born 484 B.C., to the 
present time. The Egyptian pyramids, of which, large and small, 
and in different states of preservation, the number is very consider- 
able, are all situated on the west side of the Nile, and extend in an 
irregular line, and in groups at some distance from each other, from 
the neighbourhood of Geezeh, a village opposite to Cairo, as far south 
as 29° N. lat., a length of between sixty and seventy miles. The 
three principal pyramids are those of Geezeh. They stand on a pla- 
teau or terrace of limestone, which is a projection from the Libyan 
mountain chain ; and is more than one hundred feet above the level 



ANTIQUITIES OF EGYPT. 47 

of the Egyptian plain. The largest, called the pyramid of Cheops, 
occupies a base of about 13 acres, and rises to the height of 480 feet, 
which is 46 feet higher than St. Peter's at Rome, and 76 feet higher 
than St. Paul's in London. It is built like the others, of large blocks 
of stone, which form so many gigantic steps (200 in number) to the 
top, where is a small platform. This pyramid has long been open, 
and contains a small chamber, with a hollow sarcophagus. Several 
other apartments and windiDg passages have lately been discovered 
in its recesses by persevering travellers, particularly by Col. Vyse, 
who has succeeded in revealing its whole internal structure. The 
next adjoining pyramid is that of Cephren, the brother and successor 
of Cheops. It was opened by Belzoni, who discovered that he had 
been anticipated by Arab investigators several centuries earlier; but 
he still found in a sarcophagus some bones, which are believed to be 
those of a cow or ox. The third pyramid is that of Mycerinus, the 
son of Cheops. The pyramids were undoubtedly sepulchral monu- 
ments. According to Lipsius, the mode of constructing them was as 
follows : — When a king commenced his reign, the first thing done, 
after levelling the surface of the rock for the pyramid's base, was to 
excavate a chamber, intended for his tomb, under ground, with a 
passage communicating with the surface, and to erect a course of 
masonry above, which served for the nucleus of the pyramid. If the 
king died during the year, fche masonry was immediately cased over, 
and a small pyramid was formed. If he continued to live, another 
course of stone was added in height, and the length of the lower 
stage increased. During subsequent years the same process was 
repeated, and the pyramid thus continued to be increased every year 
until the death of the king in whose reign it was erected, fresh 
courses being added each year of his life. When the king died, 
the work of enlargement ceased, and a casing was put on the whole 
structure. 

Sphinx. — The Egyptian sphinxes are lions, but without wings, 
in which latter respect they differ from those of Greece. They are 
represented in the same recumbent posture as the Grecian ones, lying, 
namely, upon the front part of the body, with the paws stretched 
forward. The upper part of the body is either human, and mostly 
female, or they have the head of a ram. In some cases the head is 
covered with a kind of cap, which also covers part of the neck. 
These sphinxes were generally placed at the entrance of temples, 
where they often formed a long avenue, leading to the sacred edifice. 
The largest of the existing sphinxes is that of Geezeh, which is hewn 
out of the rock, and is of the enormous dimensions of one hundred 
and forty-three feet in length, and sixty-two feet in height in front. 

It was formerly covered to the neck with sand, which was cleared 
away by Signor Caviglia. The greater part, however, is now covered 
up again, leaving little more than the head and shoulders visible. 



48 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Vocal Memnon. — There are many colossal statues in Egypt which 
have been called Memnonian, of which the most celebrated is the 
vocal statue, described by Strabo and Pausanias. 

At sunrise, a sound was said to proceed from this statue, which 
Pausanias compares to the snapping of a harp or lute string. Strabo 
states that he heard the sound himself in company with iElius Gal- 
lus ; and Tacitus relates that Germanicus also heard it. This statue 
is identified, by the description of Strabo and Pausanias, with the 
northernmost of the two colossal statues in the Theban plain, on the 
west coast of the Nile. Its height, according to modern travellers, 
is about fifty feet ; and its legs contain numerous inscriptions in Latin 
and Greek, commemorating the names of those who had heard the 
sound. Most of these inscriptions belong to the period of the early 
Roman emperors. This statue is now ascertained to be that of 
Amenophis II , the son of Tuthmosis, and who is said to have driven 
the shepherds out of Egypt. There is some difficulty, however, not- 
withstanding the inscriptions upon it, in identifying this statue with 
the one described by Strabo and Pausanias. These writers say that 
the upper part had in their time fallen down — according to one 
account, in consequence of an earthquake ; while another ascribed it 
to Cambyses, who, it is said, suspecting some imposture, caused the 
statue to be broken off in the middle. At the present day, however, 
the upper part exists in its proper position, though not in a single 
piece. Heeren conjectures that the broken statue might have been 
repaired after the time of Strabo. The sound above spoken of is 
now supposed to have proceeded from a stone in the lap of the 
statue, which was struck by a person concealed in a recess behind it, 
and which emitted, as it still does, when struck, a metallic sound. 
The head of the colossal Memnon in the British Museum has no 
claim to be considered the vocal statue. 

Among other remains of Egyptian greatness, we may name — 1. 
The Memnonium at Thebes, on the western side of the river, a 
splendid structure originally, and probably the same with the tomb 
of Osymandias, described by Diodorus Siculus. The more correct 
name of the edifice, however, would be Ramescum, since it is now 
ascertained to have been the palace-temple of Rameses II, one of 
whose titles, Miamun, was corrupted by the Greeks into Memnon. 
2. The great temple at Medcenet Haboo, or the palace-temple of 
Rameses III 3. The tombs of the kings, to the west of this latter 
place, cut in the calcareous rock, at different levels. They are all 
of extraordinary splendour, the largest and most magnificent being 
that of Rameses Miamun, which is adorned with sculptures of the 
highest interest. 



CHAPTER V. 

Arabia. — Peninsula of Sinai. 

Arabia is an extensive country of Asia, reaching from the river 
Euphrates to Egypt, and lying to the south and east of the land of 
Canaan. It is situate between 12° and 35° north latitude, and 53° 
and 78° east longitude, and is bounded on the south by the Indian 
Ocean and the Straits of Babelmandeb \ on the west by Palestine, 
part of Syria, the Isthmus of Suez, and the Ked Sea ; on the north 
by part of Syria, and the Euphrates ; and on the east by the moun- 
tains of Chaldea, the Persian Gulf, and the Q-ulf of Ormus. From 
its northern extremity to Cape Babelmandeb, it measures about one 
thousand four hundred miles, and its greatest breadth is one thou- 
sand one hundred and fifty miles from Cape Rasalhat to the port of 
Jidda, forming one of the largest peninsulas in the world. The first 
division of the peninsula of Arabia was into Arabah and Kedem, 
the boundaries of which are described by Moses in Deut. i. 1, 2. 
As Arabah imports the west, so Kedem signifies the east; and 
these appellations agree with the situation of the regions so de- 
nominated. 

Ptolemy was the first geographer who divided this peninsula into 
three parts, — Arabia Petrea, Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix : 
and this division has been generally followed by modern geographers. 
Arabia Petrea lies contiguous to Egypt and Syria, and, as its name 
imports, is of a rocky and unfruitful soil. A few cultivated and fer- 
tile spots lie scattered at considerable distances from each other, 
which afford delightful retreats from the immense deserts that sur- 
round them. The principal inhabitants of this district were the 
Ishmaelites and Nabathasans, both descendants of Ishmael, who after- 
wards extended themselves from the Red Sea as far as the river Eu- 
phrates. The Midianites, Amalekites, Cushites, Hagarenes, and 
Kedarenes, also inhabited this region, the whole of which names 
were, in after ages, absorbed in that of Saracens. Petra, the capi- 
tal of Arabia Petrea, the same with Joktheel, mentioned in 2 Kings 
xiv. 7, was the strongest fortress in Arabia, and in the time of Au- 
gustus was the residence of the king of the Nabathasans. It stood 
upon a rocky situation, and was accessible only by a narrow path, 
the ascent of which was so steep as to render it almost impregnable. 
It was in Arabia Petrea, between the Gulfs of Suez and Akaba, that 
the children of Israel, after their wonderful deliverance from Egyp- 
tian bondage, travelled forty years in the wilderness. Within the 
5 (49) 



50 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

bounds of Arabia Petrea, too, are situated the celebrated mountains 
of Sinai and Horeb, and not for from these mountains lay the land 
of Midian, whither Moses fled out of Egypt. Arabia Deserta extends 
aloog the foot of the Chaldean mountains, having its northern bound- 
aries washed by the Euphrates. Syria, Judea, and Arabia Petrea 
bound it on the west; Chaldea and Babylonia on the east; and Ara- 
bia Felix on the south. This country, as its name imports, presents 
to the eye of the traveller nothing but barren deserts and large uncul- 
tivated plains. A few verdant spots, indeed, appear here and there, 
like so many islands in the midst of the ocean, upon which the wan- 
dering Arabs pitch their tents, and remain until the pasture is con- 
sumed ; but to use the words of Dr. Shaw, Arabia Deserta is a lone- 
some desolate wilderness, not otherwise diversified than by plains 
covered with sands, and by mountains made up of naked rocks and 
precipices. Part of this district toward the east was inhabited by the 
iEsitae, which is supposed by some to be the land of Uz, mentioned 
in the book of Job. The Itureans, Edomites, Nabathseans, people 
of Kedar, and other nations, also occupied this region, and, like their 
posterity, the present Bedouins, led a wandering life, dwelling in 
tents, with which they removed from one place to another. The 
chief city of Arabia Deserta was Palmyra, which occupied the site 
of the Hebrew Tadmor or Thedmore, about 180 miles north-east of 
Damascus. 

Arabia Felix is surrounded on three sides by the Red Sea, the 
Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Persia, and is bounded on the north 
by the two divisions of Arabia already described. The fertility and 
rich productions of this country acquired for it the appellation of 
Felix, or happy. It abounded in gold, spices, and perfumes; be- 
sides which, it engrossed the trade of the most precious commodities 
of Europe, Asia, and Africa. It includes the five provinces of Ye- 
men, Hedjas, Tehama, Nedjed, and Yumana; and was inhabited by 
the Sebsei (the Sabeans of Scripture, Isa. xlv. 14), the Oinani, 
Saraceni, &c, and by the descendants of some of Abraham's sons by 
Keturah. The chief cities of this division of Arabia were Aden, 
Musa (the modern Mocha), Sanas, Sabaa Macoraba, or Mecca, and 
Lathrippa (the modern Medina). Mecca and Medina are the two 
holy cities of Mahommedans, to the former of which a visit is en- 
joined by the false prophet on every believer who can afford the 
expense. A visit to the tomb of Mohammed at Medina is also 
reckoned a highly meritorious part of the same holy pilgrimage. 

Sinai. 

The Desert of Mount Sinai, including the Arabia Petrea of the 
ancients, once the seat of the Nabathaean dominion, is now nearly 



SINAI — ITS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 51 

desolate, and contains but few towns; the open country is entirely 
in the hands of the independent Bedouins. The group of the Sinai 
mountains is the last considerable elevation towards the north-west 
of the mountains which form the high land in the interior of Arabia. 
It nearly fills a peninsula projecting into the Red Sea, having the 
Gulf of Akabah on the east, and that of Suez, called also the Gulf 
of Kolzum, on the west. At the northern extremity of the eastern 
gulf is situated the ancient tomb of Aila, the Elath of Scripture 
(Deut. ii. 8 ; 1 Kings ix. 26 ; 2 Kings xvi. 6), now commonly 
called Akabah. At the northern extremity of the western gulf, lies 
the town of Suez, one of the few safe and spacious harbours in the Red 
Sea, where ships can be repaired. The traffic by sea between Egypt 
and the Hedjaz is chiefly carried on from Kosseir; yet the trade in 
coffee and Indian goods still passes by Suez to Cairo, and it has be- 
come of considerable importance since the establishment of the over- 
land route to British India. On the eastern side of the Gulf of Suez 
is another good harbour called Bender-Tor, where the ships trading 
between Jidda and Suez are in the habit of anchoring to take in 
fresh water, which the neighbouring mountains supply of excellent 
quality. In the Sinai mountains we find sandstone, and on the 
highest parts granite. 

In the midst of the hills, on the height of Jebel Musa, surrounded 
by higher meuntain-tops and near the summit, considered as the 
proper Sinai of Scripture, is situated the convent of St. Catharine, 
founded, according to the credited tradition, by Helena, the mother 
of Constantine, in the fourth century. Jebel Musa is rich in springs 
of fresh water; the surrounding valleys produce excellent grapes, 
pears, dates, and other fruits, quantities of which are brought for 
sale to Cairo. Wady Faran, or Feiran, with its continuation Wady- 
el-Sheikh, and Wady Girondel, both to the north of Jebel Musa, 
and sloping towards the Gulf of Suez, are filled with water during 
the rainy reason, which obliges the inhabitants then to retire up 
the hills. 

Towards the north of the proup of Sinai is a desolate tract called 
by the Arabs El-Ti, or Tiah-Bani-Israel, i. e., the Desert of the chil- 
dren of Israel. Abulfeda (Descript. JEgyptii, p. 14, ed. Michaelis) 
states its dimensions from hearsay at forty parasangs in length, and 
as much in breadth, the soil being partly rocky and hard, and partly 
sandy, with now and then a well of brackish water. This account is 
fully confirmed by Burckhardt, who describes it as the most dreary 
and barren wilderness that he ever met with. 

To the north of the Gulf of Akaba, in the hilly district of Jebel 
Shera, at the distance of about seven hours from Shobak, or Kerek- 
al-Shobak, its capital, the Wady Musa opens itself, watered by the 
copious spring of Ain Musa. 



52 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

In this valley, below the village of Eldjy, Burckhardt discovered 
the magnificent ruins of a town which he, no doubt correctly, sup- 
posed to be the ancient Nabathsean capital, Petra. " The metropolis 
of the Nabathsei," says Strabo (b. xvi. c, 4, p. 403, ed. Tauchnitz ; 
Casaub. p. 779), "is a town called Petra. It is situated in a place 
which itself is smooth and level, but which is all around fenced by 
a circle of rocks, and on the outside consists of precipitous cliffs, 
while towards the interior it has copious springs, for the watering of 
fields and for horticulture." Pliny (Nat. Hist., vi. c. 28) describes 
Petra as situated u in a valley somewhat less than two thousand 
paces wide, enclosed by inaccessible mountains, with a stream run- 
ning through it." 




T. Sinclair's Eih ] 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, to their 
entrance into the land of canaan. 

b.c. 1491—1451. 

The children of Israel took their departure hastily from Rameses 
towards the Isthmus of Suez, and encamped the first night at 
Succoth (Ex. xii. 37; Numb, xxxiii. 3, 5), a station midway 
between Rameses and the borders of the Arabian desert north of 
Suez. At the end of the second day they had already arrived at 
the borders of this desert, at Etham. 

Twelve miles north-west of Suez is a well, two hundred and fifty 
feet deep, defended by a fortification and a garrison. South and 
east of this, three miles from Suez, is another watering-place, which 
supplies the city with water. Etham was therefore situated some- 
where in the region above the northern point of the Red Sea, in the 
neighbourhood of the Arabian desert. 

Here the natural course of the Israelites would have led them to 
advance directly into the desert, passing around the head waters of 
the Red Sea, and thence southward down its eastern shore ; but 
instead of this, they turned to the south, and directed their route 
along its western coast (Ex. xiv. 2; Numb, xxxiii. 7), and encamped 
near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal- 
zephon. 

This movement must have seemed to Pharaoh very unwise ; but 
it had the effect to draw him after the Israelites, and to accomplish 
his overthrow. 

Migdol, Pi-hahiroth, Baal-zephon, and the Passage 
through the red sea. 

The position of these places cannot be ascertained. Many sup- 
pose Migdol to be the same as Magdolum, a strong military fortress 
on the northern frontier of Egypt, which commanded the route to 
the land of Canaan by the coast of the Mediterranean. According 
to this view, the phrase u between Migdol and the sea," indicates 
the dangers to which the ' Israelites were exposed on either side. 
From Migdol on the left, the garrison, marching out, might inter- 
cept their flight, while the sea opposed them on the right. 

Others, again, suppose that the children of Israel passed down to 

the sea by the headland of the Atakah, six or eight miles below 

Suez, which Dr. Wilson affirms to be entirely practicable; or else 

that they reached the same station by a circuit around this headland. 

5* (53) 



54 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

In this case, Migdol, Pi-hahiroth, and Baal-zephon are to be assumed 
as localities in this region. 

Of the stations here mentioned, no trace remains; nor is it probable 
that either their position, or the exact place of the passage of the 
Israelites through the Red Sea, will ever be determinately esta- 
blished. Niebuhr, Dr. Robinson, and many others, limit the passage 
to the neighbourhood of Suez. 

From this town an arm of the sea sets up some distance towards 
the north-east. The bay is less than a mile in width, and is easily 
forded at low water, on sand-bars that run across it. The tide, 
however, rises here more than six feet, rendering the passage im- 
practicable in flood-time, and at all times more or less difficult, so 
that caravans never cross the ford. Bonaparte nearly lost his life in 
1799, in crossing at this very place, though attended by guides who 
were well acquainted with the ground. The blowing of a " strong- 
east wind," miraculously, upon the ebbing waters, is supposed to 
have laid bare a space on these shoals wide enough for the immense 
caravan of the Israelites to pass over on dry ground, while the 
deeper waters of the bay remained on their left, and the main waters 
of the sea pressed closely upon their right. 

The Egyptians were overthrown he/ore the morning appeared, for 
so the original should be rendered. Now, supposing the children of 
Israel to have begun their march, as the account of it seems to 
imply (Ex. xiv. 21, 22), at a late hour of the night, and considering 
the vast extent of their caravan, they could only have had time, 
before the dawn of morning, to pass over a narrow arm of the sea, 
like that now under consideration. Such is the reasoning of those 
who limit the passage of the Israelites to the neighbourhood of Suez. 
In certain numbers of the Athenaeum, for 1851, there are some very 
interesting papers advancing opposite opinions, by the Astronomer 
Royal, Mr. Airy, and Miss Fanny Corbaux, as to the place where 
the Israelites crossed the sea. 

Professor Ritter, the greatest geographer of the age, supposes that 
the place of the passage is to be sought higher up, considerably 
beyond the present gulf, in the ancient bed of the Red Sea, which 
extended 90,000 paces, with an average breadth of 18,000 or 20,000 
paces, At the head of this ancient gulf he locates Etham and 
Pi-hahiroth, somewhere on its Egyptian side. 

But on either of these suppositions, how could the Israelites have 
been " entangled in the land" so as to become an easy prey to their 
pursuers, having only a narrow and fordable frith before them ? 
Whence the consternation and distress of the Israelites ? Again, 
how could the waters be " a wall unto them, on the right hand and 
on the left," so as to justify the expression " the waters stood upright 
as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea"? 
Why the triumphant song of Moses, at the miraculous overthrow of 



PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. 55 

the Egyptians, if this was occasioned mainly by the regular return 
of the tide-waters ? " The dukes of Edom shall be amazed ; the 
mighty men of Moab, trembling, shall take hold of them; all the 
inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away" with fear. Could this be 
because the Israelites went at low water over a narrow pass in safety, 
as is customary to this day, and the Egyptians, in pursuit, were 
drowned by the returning tide ? 

Hence Dr. Wilson, and others, suppose the passage to have been 
effected a few miles below the town, across the sea itself, where it is 
about eight or ten miles in width, and that the children of Israel 
must have turned their course from Etham, and passed either in a 
circuitous route around the Atakah, which rises u lofty and dark," 
in a bold bluff from the western shore below Suez, or else directly 
down the coast, passing between this headland and the sea. This 
• mountain is supposed to have been Baal-zephon, and the valley on 
the south side of it, Pi-hahiroth. 

Yon Raumer, again, supposes them to have made their final exit 
from the south-western border of Goshen, near Cairo, and to have 
pursued their course to the sea through a valley, still called the Val- 
ley of Wandering, south of a chain of mountains which runs from 
Cairo eastward, and terminates in the Atakah. According to this 
theory, Barneses was near Cairo ; Succoth and Etham were in the 
valley ; and Migdol, the Deraj, a lofty mountain south of Atakah. 

Here they would be beset with dangers on every side. On the 
right, a wide waste of mountains and desert ; on the left the impass- 
able Atakah ; before them the sea, and behind them the Egyptians 
in eager pursuit, with a regular military force, a large body of 
cavalry, and 600 chariots of war. 

But Dr. Kitto remarks, that, " If the reader reverts to the text, 
he will notice that there is scarcely so minute a specification of 
locality in the whole Bible as that which it affords. One might 
almost think that the site was thus carefully pointed out in order to 
render it manifest that the passage of the gulf could not at that spot 
have been effected by less than a miracle ; or, in other words, to 
preclude such attempts to account for the facts on natural grounds, 
as have actually resulted from our being no longer able to recognise, 
by the given names, the spots they were intended to indicate. No 
trace of these names now exists in the locality; but some inferences 
may be built upon the signification of the names. With respect to 
pi ha-Hiroth it is to be observed that the word pi, mouth, is sepa- 
rate in the original, and the ha is the definite article. Now as proper 
names carry no articles in Hebrew, Jilroth, or rather chiroth, must 
be regarded not as a proper name, but as a substantive; and we 
must search for its meaning accordingly. It indicates i something 
cutting deep into the land f hence a valley, defile, or pass ; hence, 
also, mouth of a river, a bay of the sea. 



56 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

a Thus we reacli the signification c before the mouth of the pass/ 
or i of the bay f both of which senses suit admirably the expansion 
by which the important pass of Bedea (which extends from the valley 
of the Nile to the Red Sea), opens upon the latter. We are not 
unaware that some regard the word as Egyptian. But the other 
names are not Egyptian; and there is no reason why this alone 
should be so. 

" We have made it a rule to ourselves not to regard any word or 
name as foreign, which affords a sufficient and satisfactory sense in 
Hebrew ; and in this place the words do not seem to form a proper 
name at all. Migdol indicates a fortress or citadel; and where was 
there more likely to be a fortress than near the mouth of this im- 
portant pass, which led into the very heart of Egypt ? As to Baal- 
zephon, 'over against' which they were to encamp, it seems likely 
that it was some marked site or object (not necessarily a town), on 
the other side, that is, the eastern side of the gulf, so that, encamp- 
ing on the western shore, they had Baal-zephon on the other side in 
front of them. The text will, however, equally allow that Baal- 
zephon should have been upon the ridge of hills which wall in the 
mouth of the valley of Bedea on the south, and which would have 
been c before' or in front of the Israelites as they came down from 
the north. We do not, however, build upon this explanation of 
names, though it is interesting to observe their agreement with the 
view we have indicated. 

" The final result would be that the Israelites turned off at right 
angles to their former course, and marched thence along the western 
shore, between Mount Ataka and the sea, till they came to the val- 
ley of Bedea, where they could proceed no further without going 
through the sea, unless they returned to Egypt through the valley. 

" Well might Pharaoh exult when he found them in such a situa- 
tion, where it seemed quite in his choice to slay them by the sword, 
or to drive them into the sea, or back through the valley into Egypt. 

" Believing as we do that the waters were divided by the direct 
and immediate power of Jehovah, the Israelites would have eight or 
ten hours to make their way through the channel opened to them by 
the hand of Omnipotence, a space amply sufficient for a march of 
ten or twelve miles. An escape so miraculous, through the depths 
of the sea, and the fearful overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts, might 
indeed strike the dukes of Edom and the surrounding nations, far 
and near, with the fear of Jehovah, and a dread of his people." 

Having crossed the sea, the Israelites sang the song of thanksgiv- 
ing for their deliverance. 

" Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the 
Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath tri- 
umphed gloriously : the horse and his rider hath he thrown into 
the sea. 



DESERT OF ARABIA. 57 

"Pharaoh's chariot and his host hath he cast into the sea; his 
chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 

" The depths have covered them ; they sank into the bottom as a 
stone. 

" For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his 
horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the 
sea upon them ; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the 
midst of the sea. 

" And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel 
in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels 
and with dances." (Exodus xv. 1 — 20.) 

Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea, 
Jehovah hath triumph' d — His people are free, 
Sing — for the pride of the tyrant is broken, 

His chariots and horsemen all splendid and brave. 
How vain was their boasting ! — The Lord hath but spoken, 

And chariots and horsemen are sunk in the wave. 
Sound the loud timbrel o'er Egypt's dark sea, 
Jehovah hath triumph'd — His people are free. 

Praise to the Conqueror, praise to the Lord, 

His word was our arrow, his breath was our sword, 

Who shall return to tell Egypt the story, 

Of those who set forth in the hour of her pride ; 
For the Lord hath looked out from his pillar of glory, 

And all her brave thousands are dashed in the tide. 
Sound the loud timbrels o'er Egypt's dark sea. 
Jehovah hath triumph'd — His people are free. — Moore. 

Wilderness or Shur, or Desert of Etham. 

The Children of Israel came up from the sea into the Desert of 
Etham : the latter name is not to be confounded with the town of that 
name, which has been already mentioned as the second place of en- 
campment in their flight. This desert appears to have extended for 
some distance down the eastern shore of the Red Sea (Numb, xxxiii. 
8), and comprised a part of the Desert of Arabia. 

But the wilderness #f Etham was only a small section of the vast 
Arabian desert into which the Israelites had now entered ; and 
where, as a just judgment for their rebellion and murmurings against 
God, they were to wander for forty years, and to die without seeing 
the " good land" towards which they were journeying. 

Desert of Arabia. 

This immense desert extends from the Nile, in Lower Egypt, to 
the Euphrates, a distance of one thousand miles from west to east. 
The remarkable valley of Akabah, and the mountains of Edom, east 
of it, divide this desert into two great divisions, Arabia Deserta on 
the east, and Arabia Petrea on the west. The northern boundary 



58 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

of the latter extends from the eastern mouth of the Nile, along the 
Mediterranean to Gaza, and thence to the southern extremity of the 
Dead Sea, forming the base of a vast triangular desert, in the oppo- 
site angle of which, between the Red Sea and the iElanitic Gulf, are 
the mountains of Sinai. 

The Sinaitic Mountain Group. 

These mountains consist of a vast mass of sharp rocky summits, 
thrown together in wild confusion, rising to different heights, leaf- 
less and barren, without the least trace of verdure to relieve the stern 
and awful features of the prospect. 

The view from one of these summits presents a perfect " sea of 
desolation," without a parallel on the face of the earth. The val- 
leys between the summits sink into steep and narrow ravines, with 
perpendicular sides of several hundred feet in height, forming a maze 
of irregular defiles, which can be securely traversed only by the wild 
Arab, who has his habitation in the "clefts of the valleys/' amidst 
these eternal solitudes, 

Towards the north this mountain knot slopes down in an irregular 
curvilinear line, which turns outward like a crescent, and runs off, 
on the one hand, towards the head of the eastern gulf (Akabah) 
of the Red Sea; and on the other, north-west, towards the Gulf 
of Suez, 

The extremities of the long irregular line formed by this circular 
ridge, are joined by a high chain of mountains, Et-Tih, extending 
eastward from the Red Sea, south of Suez, in a continued chain to 
the Akabah Gulf, a distance of near one hundred and twenty miles, 
and enclosing in a circular segment a high sandy desert, utterly 
desolate and barren. 

North of Et-Tih, the whole tract of country extending to the 
Mediterranean, and from the Gulf of Suez to the deep valley of the 
Arabah, is an immense table-land, lying high above the level of the 
adjacent waters, with a slight inclination to the north. 

The surface of this elevated plain is overspread with a coarse 
gravel mingled with black flint-stone, interspersed occasionally with 
drifting sand ; and only diversified with occasional ridges and sum- 
mits of barren chalk hills. 

In the time of Moses it was a great and terrible wilderness ; and 
from time immemorial it has been a waste, cheerless desert, without 
rivers, or fountains, or verdure, to alleviate the horrors of its deso- 
lation. 

But we must suppose that it was once supplied in some measure, 
both with water and with vegetation. The brethren of Joseph repeat- 
edly traversed it from Hebron to Egypt with asses. (Gen. xlii.) 
When the southern part of Palestine was suffering with extreme 
dearth, Jacob and his sons went down with their flocks and their 



WILDERNESS OF SIN. 59 

herds. (Gen. xlvii. 1.) But no animal save the camel is now able 
to pass over the same route. 

The Israelites, to the number of two millions, with their flocks 
and their herds (Ex. x. 9), inhabited portions of this wilderness 
for forty years, where now they could not subsist a week without 
drawing supplies both of water and of provisions from a great dis- 
tance. In view of the sterility of the desert, some suppose that the 
flocks and herds of the Israelites were sustained by a continued 
miracle. 

From Suez to Mount Sinai. 

Below Suez, the table-land of the desert breaks abruptly off to- 
wards the Bed Sea, into a rugged line of mountains, running south- 
by-east, at the distance of eight and ten miles from the shore. 
Along the interval between the brow of these mountains and the 
shore, lay the route of the Israelites. On the eastern shore of the 
Bed Sea, at a short distance below Suez, are several springs of brack- 
ish water, called Ayun Mousa, the Fountains of Moses, where Moses 
is supposed to have indited his triumphal song. (Ex. xv. 1 — 22.) 

Hence " they went out into the wilderness of Shur ; and went 
three days in the wilderness and found no water ;" when they came 
to Marah y the waters of which were so bitter that they could not 
drink them. (Ex. xv. 22 j 25.) 

About forty miles below^ the Fountains of Moses is that of Hawa- 
rah, whose water is salt, and so bitter that even camels refuse, un- 
less very thirsty, to drink it. In this fountain we recognise the bit- 
ter waters of Marah, which were miraculously changed at the 
complaint of the children of Israel. The barren tract between these 
fountains corresponds with the desert of Shur. (Ex. xv. 22.) 

We next find the Israelites at Elim, where were several fountains 
of water and many palm trees. (Ex. xv. 27.) This station is 
admitted to be the valley Gharendel, six miles from Hawarah, where 
is found an abundant supply of water, some tillage land, several 
varieties of plants and shrubs, and a few palm trees. 

From Elim they removed and encamped by the Bed Sea. (Numb, 
xxxiii. 10.) This station they reached by a circuitous route around 
a spur of the mountains on the left, which comes down to the sea, 
where it terminates in the lofty summit of Hummam Musa, 
"extending along the coast towards the south black, desolate, and 
picturesque." 

Wilderness or Sin. 

Near the last station, the coast again becomes an extensive desert, 
running far down towards the extremities of the peninsula. This 
desolate region is clearly identified as the Wilderness of Sin, where 
the Israelites are next found. (Ex. xvii. lj Numb, xxxiii. 11.) 



60 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Burckhardt describes it as " a frightful desert, almost wholly with- 
out vegetation. " 

This wilderness is memorable as the place where, in answer to 
their murmurings, they were, for the first time, miraculously fed 
with quails, to appease their lusting after the flesh-pots of Egypt. 
(Ex. xvi. 3.) Here, also, they were first fed with manna, that bread 
of heaven which they continued to eat for forty years, until they 
reached the land of promise and ate of the corn of that country. 

DOPHKAH, ALUSH, AND REPHIDIM. 

From this desert, the children of Israel are supposed, by Dr. 
Robinson and others, to have turned up south-east, into the moun- 
tainous region of Sinai. Their entrance into the mountainous wil- 
derness was through the Wady Feiran, a broad valley which is 
overspread with vegetation and tamarisk trees, or occupied with 
gardens and date plantations. 

It is much frequented by the Bedouins for pasturage. Some- 
where in the range of the route from the Wilderness of Sin to 
Rephidim, were the stations of Dophkah and Alush, (Numb, xxiii. 
12, 13), but their situation is irrecoverably lost. And the same 
may be said of Rephidim, except that it must have been further in 
the interior, at the distance perhaps of a day's journey from Mount 
Sinai. 

Burckhardt supposes that it may have been at the extremity of 
the valley above described, which has now assumed the name of 
Esh-Sheikh ; where it enters by a narrow gorge into the high granite 
cliffs of these central regions. He says : 

" We had now approached the central summits of Mount Sinai, 
which we had in view for several days. Abrupt cliffs of granite, 
from six to eight hundred feet in height, whose surface is blackened 
by the sun, surround the avenues leading to the elevated platform, 
to which the name of Sinai is specifically applied. We entered 
these cliffs by a narrow defile about forty feet in breadth, with per- 
pendicular granite rocks on both sides." 

At Rephidim, somewhere in this vicinity, and in the neighbour- 
hood of Sinai, the Israelites encamped for some time. Here they 
renewed their murmurings for the want of water, and were miracu- 
lously supplied from the rock in Horeb ; here were the Amalekites 
defeated ; and here Jethro, the father-in-law, or more probably per- 
haps the brother-in-law, of Moses, visited him, and, in consequence 
of his advice, judges were appointed to assist in the administration 
of justice. (Ex. xvi. xvii.) 

Mount Sinai. 
The next encampment of the Israelites was at this mountain. 
But how could such an immense caravan find a suitable place of 



MOUNT SINAI. 61 

encampment, within the hidden recesses of these mountains, where 
travellers have found nothing but rugged, frowning cliffs and high 
spindling peaks, dark and desolate beyond description, separated 
from each other by an endless labyrinth of deep and frightful chasms ? 
To this difficulty the researches of Robinson and Smith are supposed 
to offer a satisfactory explanation, which we give in their own words. 

At the foot of the pass which leads up to the sacred shrine beneath 
the awful mount, from whose summit Jehovah proclaimed his law to 
the trembling hosts of Israel — 

Dr. Robinson says : " We commenced the slow and toilsome ascent 
along the narrow defile, about south-by-east, between blackened, 
shattered cliffs of granite, some eight hundred feet high, and not 
more than two hundred and fifty yards apart, which every moment 
threatened to send down their ruins on our heads. Nor is this at 
all times an empty threat, for the whole pass is filled with large stones 
and rocks, the debris of these cliffs. 

" The bottom is a deep and narrow water-course, where the wintry 
torrent sweeps down with fearful violence. A path has been made 
for camels, along shelving rocks, partly by removing the topmost 
blocks, and sometimes by laying down large stones side by side, 
somewhat in the manner of a Swiss mountain-road. But though I 
had crossed the most rugged passes of the Alps, and made, from 
Chamouni, the whole circuit of Mont Blanc, I had never found a 
path so rude and difficult as that we were now ascending." 

After toiling along for near two hours, our travellers continue 
their narrative : — 

" Here the interior and loftier peaks of the great circle of Sinai 
began to open upon us — black, rugged, desolate summits; and as 
we advanced, the dark and frowning front of Sinai itself (the present 
Horeb of the monks) began to appear. 

"We were still gradually ascending, and the valley gradually 
opening; but as yet all was a naked desert. Afterwards a few 
shrubs were sprinkled round about, and a small encampment of 
black tents was seen on our right, with camels and goats browsing, 
and a few donkeys belonging to the convent. The scenery through 
which we had now passed reminded me strongly of the mountains 
around the Mer-de-G-lace, in Switzerland. I had never seen a spot 
more wild and desolate. 

" As we advanced, the valley still opened wider and wider, with a 
gentle ascent, and became fall of shrubs and tufts of herbs, shut in 
on each side by lofty granite ridges, with rugged, shattered peaks a 
thousand feet high, while the face of Horeb rose directly before us. 
Both my companion and myself involuntarily exclaimed, 6 Here is 
room enough for a large encampment V 

" Reaching the top of the ascent, or water-shed, a fine, broad plain 
lay before us, sloping down gently towards the S. S. E., enclosed by rug- 
6 



62 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

ged and venerable mountains of dark granite, stem, naked, splintered 
peaks and ridges of indescribable grandeur; and terminated, at a 
distance of more than a mile, by the bold and awful front of Horeb, 
rising perpendicularly in frowning majesty, from twelve to fifteen 
hundred feet in height. 

" It was a scene of solemn grandeur, wholly unexpected, and such 
as we had never seen ; and the associations which at the moment 
rushed upon our minds were almost overwhelming." 

They subsequently ascended the frowning summit of Horeb, and 
sketched the scene from that point. " The whole plain, Er-Kahah, 
lay spread out beneath our feet, with the adjacent wadys and moun- 
tains ) while Wady Esh-Sheikh on the right, and the recess on the 
left, both connected with and opening broadly from Er-Rahah, pre- 
sented an area which serves nearly to double that of the plain. 

" Our conviction was strengthened that here, or on some of the 
adjaceut cliffs, was the spot where the Lord ■' descended in fire/ and 
proclaimed the law. Here lay the plain where the whole congrega- 
tion might be assembled; here was the mount that could be ap- 
proached if not forbidden ; and here the mountain brow, where alone 
the lightnings and the thick cloud would be visible, and the thunders 
and the voice of the trump be heard, when the Lord i came down in 
the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai/ 

"We gave ourselves up to the impressions of the awful scene! 
and read, with a feeling that will never be forgotten, the sublime 
account of the transaction, and the commandments there promul- 
gated, in the original words as recorded by the great Hebrew legis- 
lator."* 

Other travellers have explored a valley on the southern base of 
Sinai, which was shut from the view of Dr. Robinson, in his ascent, 
by a long ridge of rocks, and which has been found, by measurement 
of Krafft and Strauss and others, to be even greater than the valley 
of Er-Rahah on the north. 

This, it is supposed by Ritter and others, may have been occupied 
by the Israelites at the giving of the law. The locality of this 
tremendous scene may perhaps be better determined by future 
researches. 

The children of Israel left on the fifteenth day of the first month 
of the sacred year, or about the middle of April, and reached Sinai 
on the third month (Ex. xix. 1), having been apparently just three 
months on the way, and made a journey of about two hundred miles. 
At Sinai they remained during all the transactions recorded in Exo- 
dus, from the eighteenth chapter to the end, and in Leviticus, and 
the first nine chapters of Numbers. In these transactions they were 
occupied a little less than a year. 

* Robinson's 'Biblical Researches.' 



MOUNT HOREB — MOUNT SINAI. 63 

Mount Horeb — Mount Sinai. 

The mountain from which the law was given is denominated 
Horeb in Deuteronomy i. 6; iv. 10, 15; v. 2; xviii. 16; in other 
books of the Pentateuch it is called Sinai. 

These names are now applied to two opposite summits of an iso- 
lated, oblong, and central mountain in the midst of this confused 
group of mountain heights. The mountain is about two miles in 
length from north to south, and about one-fourth of a mile in width. 

Horeb is the frowning, awful cliff at the northern extremity, 
already described as overhanging the valley Er-Rahah. 

Sinai rises in loftier, sterner grandeur at the southern extremity. 
Its elevation is 7,047 Paris feet above the level of the sea. A deep, 
irregular, and narrow defile sweeps around the entire base of this 
oblong mountain, which supports the heights of Horeb and Sinai, 
as if the Almighty himself had set bounds around the holy mount 
and sanctified it. Even the mountains round about, which seemed 
huddled together in wild confusion, as if in mute amazement at the 
scene when the Lord descended in fire upon the mount, " and the 
smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole 
mount quaked greatly" — even these mountains are cat off from any 
immediate communication with this Mount of God. 

" I stood," says Stephens, " upon the very peak of Sinai, where 
Moses stood when he talked to the Almighty. Can it be, or is it a 
mere dream ? Can this naked rock have been the witness of that 
great interview between man and his Maker ? where, amid thunder 
and lightning, and a fearful quaking of the mountain, the Almighty 
gave to his chosen people the precious tables of his law, those rules 
of infinite wisdom and goodness, which, to this day, best teach man 
his duty towards his God, his neighbour, and himself? 

il The scenes of many of the incidents recorded in the Bible are 
extremely uncertain. Historians and geographers place the Garden 
of Eden, the paradise of our first parents, in different parts of Asia ; 
and they do not agree upon the site of the tower of Babel, the 
mountain of Ararat, and many of the most interesting places in the 
Holy Land ; but of Sinai there is no doubt. This is the holy 
mountain; and among all the stupendous works of nature, not a 
place can be selected more fitted for the exhibition of Almighty 
power. I have stood upon the summit of the giant Etna, and looked, 
over the clouds floating beneath it, upon the bold scenery of Sicily, 
and the distant mountains of Calabria; upon the top of Vesuvius, 
and looked down upon the waves of lava, and the ruined and half- 
recovered cities at its foot; but they are nothing compared with the 
terrific solitudes and bleak majesty of Sinai. An observing traveller 
has well called it c a perfect sea of desolation/ Not a tree, or shrub, 
or blade of grass is to be seen upon the bare and rugged sides of 



64 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

innumerable mountains, heaving their naked summit to the skies ; 
while the crumbling masses of granite all around, and the distant 
view of the Syrian desert, with its boundless waste of sands, form 
the wildest and most dreary, the most terrific and desolate picture 
that imagination can conceive." 

Mount Sinai is situated 28° 30', and about one hundred and 
twenty miles from Suez, and near one hundred from the head of the 
eastern gulf of the Red Sea. 

The Hebrews remained at their station in Horeb a few days more 
than eleven months. During this time their theocracy was fully 
established; Jehovah himself was constituted their king; his law 
was promulgated in dreadful solemnity from the mount, and com- 
mitted to them as written by the finger of God ; their government 
was duly organized, their national laws and institutions were estab- 
lished, to separate them from all other nations as the future deposi- 
taries of the oracles of God; the tabernacle was set up for the 
palace of their king, Jehovah ; and the regular service of his court 
was established. 

In this interval of time they were severely rebuked for their 
apostacy from their God and King in the worship of the golden 
calf; the sanctions of the law were solemnly repeated ; the people 
were numbered and mustered for war; the order of encamping, 
breaking up, and marching was accurately settled ; and the whole 
constitution of the state was completed. 

The twelve tribes, in their marches and encampments, formed a 
square, facing the cardinal points, with the tabernacle in the centre, 
surrounded by the tribe of Levi and the carriers and attendants. 

Moses had been a wandering shepherd for forty years in this 
region; and, on this same mount, had received, from Jehovah 
appearing to him in the burning bush (Ex. iii.), his commission for 
the deliverance of his people. He was, therefore, well prepared, 
by his intimate acquaintance with the country, to conduct the thou- 
sands of Israel in their perilous march through this terrible wil- 
derness. 

He also took with him, as a guide, his brother-in-law, Hobab, 
who was well acquainted with the situation of the fountains, wells, 
and pastures of that region, and might direct the people in the for- 
aging excursions which they would have occasion continually to 
make, in order to supply water and provisions for themselves and 
their flocks and herds. (Numb. x. 29 — 32.) The descendants of 
Hobab from this time remained among the Hebrews. 

After their organization had been fully settled, and the rites of 
their religion established, the children of Israel broke up from 
Horeb, and proceeded on their way. Their marches and encamp- 
ments, in all their subsequent wanderings, were directed by Jeho- 
vah, their King. A cloud, in token of his presence, covered the 



WILDERNESS Or PARAN. 65 

tabernacle by day, " and at even, there was upon the tabernacle, the 
appearance of fire until the morning." So it was always ; the cloud 
covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. (Numb. ix. 
15, 16.) The rising of this cloud was the signal for them to 
advance, as this, overhanging the tabernacle, should lead the way; 
and the setting of the cloud upon the tabernacle, was again the 
signal for them to encamp. 

On the twentieth day of the second month, of the second year 
after their departure, the cloud was taken up from off the tabernacle 
of the testimony, and the children of Israel, taking their departure 
from out of the Wilderness of Sinai, came by three days' journey 
into the Wilderness of Paran. (Numb. x. 11 — 36.) Burkhardt 
supposes the rocky wilderness of the upper nucleus of Sinai to be 
the Desert of Sinai, so often mentioned in the wanderings of the 
Israelites. 

Wilderness of Paran, Mount Paran. 

This desert is several times mentioned in Scripture. Hagar, 
when Abraham sent her away, wandered first in the wilderness of 
Beer-sheba, and afterwards dwelt with Ishmael in the wilderness of 
Paran. (Gen. xxi. 14, 21.) David, after the death of Samuel, 
retired into this desert. Here, also, the flocks of Nabal, who dwelt 
in the southern Carmel, were accustomed to feed. (1 Sam. xxv. 2 — 43. 

" The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir, unto them ; 
he shined forth from Mount Paran." (Deut. xxxiii. 2.) 

Beer-sheba is well known to have been situated upon the borders 
of the desert, at the southern extremity of Palestine. Carmel was 
in the neighbourhood of Hebron, lying further south and near the 
desert, west of the southern part of the Dead Sea. Seir, we know, 
was south of the Dead Sea, between that and the eastern gulf of the 
Bed Sea. 

Mount Paran must be near this chain of mountains, and in the 
desert of Paran. 

All these notices indicate that the whole desert region south of 
Palestine was designated as the Wilderness of Paran, extending 
down to the mountainous regions of Sinai. The general course of 
the Israelites was north-east towards the gulf of the Bed Sea, which 
has been so often mentioned. 

At first their course from Sinai must have been due north, down 
the Wady Sheikh some twelve miles, where, according to Dr. Bob- 
inson, was Bephidim, at which encampment the children of Israel, 
on coming here, turned up to the south to go to Sinai. 

From the elevated plains around the base of Sinai to this place, 
there is a regular descent, through which water might naturally flow 
from the rock at Horeb. Indeed, this valley is the natural outlet 
6* 



66 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

of the waters from storms and wintry rains, which flow down from 
these central mountain heights. 

The blackened cliffs about this place, at the junction of the Wady 
Sheikh and Feiran, form the outpost of Horeb. And here the 
Israelites entered upon the desert plain, which is called the Wilder- 
ness of Paran, at the border of the great wilderness which bears 
this name. 

Taberah. 

Moses denominates their first station, after three days' march, by 
this name, because, at this place, the third stage from Horeb, the 
murmurings of the children of Israel at the hardships and fatigues 
of their march in the desert became so strong, that fire, enkindled 
by the indignation of the Lord, broke forth and raged with great 
fury among the tents in the outskirts of the camp. The name 
Taberah, burning, was given as a memorial of this chastisement. 
(Numb. xi. 3.) 

Kibroth-Hattaavaii, Hazeroth. 

Their next station was Kibroth-hattaavah, the graves of lust, 
where, for " a whole month/' they were again fed with quails, and 
multitudes died in consequence of their surfeit. (Numb. xi. 4 — 34. 

These quails were brought by a strong wind from the sea, the 
eastern gulf mentioned above : this place must have been situated 
near the eastern extremity of the mountainous chain Et-Tih, and 
not far from the western shore of the gulf. 

It is observable that on this occasion, as on the former, in the 
Wilderness of Sin, the children of Israel were fed by the flight of 
quails from over the sea. In this instance, from over the eastern 
branch of the Red Sea, and in that from over the western arm of 
the same sea. 

Those who are curious to explain by natural phenomena the 
miraculous events of Scripture history, inform us that these birds 
move in immense flocks, and, when weaned by long flights over 
water, fly so low and heavily as to be easily captured. 

An ancient historian tells us of a colony at Rhinocolura, on the 
Mediterranean Sea, who saved themselves from starvation by making 
long nets of slit reeds and placing them along the shore, to catch 
the quails which came flying over the sea in large flocks. In this 
manner they secured for themselves an ample supply of provisions.* 

But however ingenious such efforts, they are more curious than 
important to a believer in the miracles of the Scriptures. 

If we do not believe the sacred writers, we need not believe the 
miraculous events recorded by them. If we believe that God made 

* DiodTsic. 1. 5. 



KIBROTH-HATTAAVAH. 67 

heaven, earth and sea, and all that is therein, we may believe also 
that He could, as seemed good unto him, divide the sea, or call water 
out of the rock, or stay the river in its course, or bring quails to 
feed his people, and satisfy them with the bread of heaven. 

The Wady Sheikh, which runs north from Sinai, opens at the 
distance of a few miles into a large valley or plain, extending for 
more than thirty miles east and west between the Sinaitic group 
and Et-Tih on the north. This plain is called El-Hadharah, corres- 
ponding to Hazeroth of the Scriptures, in some part of which must 
have been the station of the Israelites of this name, and probably 
also Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavah, in which places the Israelites 
were so severely punished for their repinings and rebellion. 
(Numb, xi.) 

Dr. Wilson supposes the Israelites to have continued their course 
further north, across this plain, and, through a pass in the range Et- 
Tih, to have come out upon the plateau of the Great Desert. His 
reasons for this supposition we give in his own words : — 

" From the first time that I had my attention directed to the opi- 
nions of Burckhardt and Dr. Robinson, now adverted to, I felt great 
difficulties about the v:ell of Hadharah and the Hazeroth of Scrip- 
ture, which on every attempt which I made to overcome them, be- 
came only the more formidable. What these are, I beg here dis- 
tinctly to state. 

" Upon the numbering of the Israelites before Sinai, a new order 
was introduced into the camp. They pitched by the respective 
standards of their tribes. (Numb. ii. 34.) When they l took their 
journeys out of the Wilderness of Sinai/ 'the cloud rested in the 
Wilderness of Paran/ and 'they first took their journey according 
to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses, regularly 
marshalled, and following the respective standards of their respective 
tribes. (Numb, x : 12—18.) 

" l They departed from the Mount of the Lord three days journey/ 
still in the order in which they had set out. (Numb, x : 33.) Here 
they were at Taberah. (Numb, xi : 3 ; Deut. ix : 22.) 

" They next proceeded to Kibroth-hattaavah, which was obviously 
in a plain and not in a defile ; for upon their murmuring for flesh, 
i there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from 
the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on 
this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round 
about the camp, and as it were two cubits (high) upon the face of 
the earth (Numb. xi. 31), and the people journeyed from Kibroth-hat- 
taavah unto Hazeroth, and they abode at Hazeroth/ (Numb. xi. 35.) 

" It appears from the sacred narrative here referred to, that the 
Israelites must have left Sinai by a route which, in the first instance, 
permitted their orderly march and encampment according to their 
tribes; and every one who will look to the topography of the Sinaitic 



68 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

range, must see that their course must have been through the wide 
avenue of Wady Esh-Sheikh, with the mountainous boundaries on 
each side which we have noticed as we passed along. 

u Coming out of the Sinaitic group, probably near their former 
encampment at Rephidim, they were in the ' Wilderness of Paran/ 
another destructive district of the desert, not unlikely the plain 
Alwat-El-Jerum, to the north-east of Wady Sheikh, which is ad- 
mitted on all hands to be a part of the head of the valley of Feiran, 
from which probably the designation of Paran, as applied to this 
part of the desert, was derived. Still further advancing, they were 
in the plain of Hadharah, or Hazeroth, in a part of which our tents 
are now pitched. All this seems natural, and perfectly congruous. 

" If we take them, however, to the well of Hadharah, by Dr. Rob- 
inson's route, we lead them at once from a broad valley — where they 
could march in order — over hills and ridges, and narrow valleys, 
where their ranks must have necessarily been broken up. 

i{ We continue them among the irregularities and tortuosities of 
the eastern outpost of the Sinaitic group for about twenty miles. 
We give them an exit from these groups, where Jebel Tih runs 
down upon them from the north-west, and we find, for the first time, 
probably, a part of the plain of Hadharah, where an encampment 
could easily be formed by them. We take them a stage in advance 
to the well of Hadharah, the path to which is so rugged and difficult, 
that, according to the accounts of Dr. Robinson's Arabs, their camels 
could not reach the spring. In the neighbourhood of this well, in a 
very confined space, there is a regular station of the Israelites. 

" Afterwards they are necessitated — for they cannot mount Jebel 
Tih —to descend upon the gulf of Akabah, and to proceed along its 
narrow shores, rounding its headlands jutting into the sea of Ezion- 
Greber. That all this is possible, I should not certainly venture to 
deny. That a course apparently more consistent with the sacred nar- 
rative can be found for them, at least to the valley of Hadharah, or 
Hazeroth, I have already indicated. 

u Were I required to admit that the Israelites must have proceeded 
from Sinai to the Gulf of Akabah, by the passes leading down from 
the southern ridge of Jebel Tih, I should be disposed to think that 
they first came out from the Sinaitic range, going almost straight 
north, through Wady Sheikh, and then through the outposts of Sinai 
in that direction ; and that they afterwards turned to the right hand, 
and proceeded eastward through the open valleys to these passes. 
As far as the march to the passes is concerned, this supposed route 
presents no apparent difficulty, when viewed in connexion with the 
Scripture narrative. 

" Other routes to Mount Seir (Deut. i. 2), however, occur to us 
as practicable and suitable, when we advert to the extent of the pla- 
teau of Hadharah, as seen by us in its western parts. The Israelites, 



ARABIA PETRiEA — RANGE OF TIH. 69 

leaving Hadharah, might have at once surmounted Jebel Tih, either 
by the pass of Mareikhi, or that of Zaranah (called also Zalakah), 
at the head of Jebel Shakeirah. Ascending through either of these 
passes, they would be in the i great and terrible wilderness/ in which 
the universal tradition of Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans sup- 
poses them to have wandered. 

" Their route by the latter pass, which appears the more probable 
of the two, when its relative position to Mount Seir is considered, 
would carry them along the plateau behind the ridge, bounding the 
Sea of Akabah, allow the orderly pitching of their camp, according to 
the Divine directions, free them from many difficulties which the nar- 
row coast road presents, and actually prove the shortest route either 
to Ezion-Geber, or the town of Akabah, or to any part of Wady 
Arabah, bounded by Mount Seir, at which they might descend from 
the plateau by any of the numerous wadys which lead into that long 
and distinctive plain. " 

We subjoin in this connection Dr. Wilson's account of his passage 
over the Tih to the desert beyond : — 

" Turning our faces to the west, we had the long and winding 
pass of Mareikhi overhanging us. We found it no very easy matter 
to complete its ascent, which occupied a couple of hours, though we 
kept our seats on the camels for a considerable part of the way. In 
the abrupted rocks on each side of our narrow pathway, we had a 
section of the desert laid bare to our view, from one thousand to one 
thousand five hundred feet in depth. 

" It seemed to us, by its slopes, and precipices, and hollows, and 
caverns, to be a striking illustration — as we often noticed among the 
ravines of the wilderness, — of the text in which the Israelites are 
said to have been led i through a land of deserts and of pits. 1 (Jer. 
ii. 6.) It was interesting to us, too, in a scientific point of view, as 
it illustrated the order of the superposition of certain of the systems 
of rocks forming the crust of our globe. 

" We commenced with the variegated sandstone, passed through 
the cretaceous system, and entered above it on layers of tertiary sand 
and gravel, exactly like those of the Egyptian desert between Suez 
and Cairo. 

" When we got to the summits above, forming the plateau gently 
sloping to the north, we reckoned ourselves about 4,500 feet above 
the level of the sea, a good part of the Sinaitic range, and particu- 
larly its western division near Jebel Serhal, being still visible. Here 
we found, even on the surface, beds of the ostrea diluviana, and of 
corallino, almost as if they had been yesterday raised from the bed 
of the ocean. 

We pitched our tents on the summits of the ridge, about two 
hours in advance of the southern face." 

From this point the course of the Israelites would extend north- 



70 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

east across the great and terrible wilderness, either to Kadesh-barnea, 
in the northern part of the Arabah, or by a more easterly course to 
the head of the Akabah, or the iElanitic Gulf. 

Their precise route will probably never be determined. If, as Dr. 
Robinson supposes, a fountain in the eastern extremity of the plain 
Hadharah, bearing also this name, is Hazeroth, then this is decisive 
as to the whole route of the Israelites from Sinai to Kadesh. 

Burckhardt and Robinson suppose that this fountain El-Hadha- 
rah, which they found at the foot of the Tih, at the distance of thirty 
miles or more from Sinai, and forty from the head of the gulf, may 
be the Hazeroth of Scriptures, memorable for the envious sedition 
of Miriam and Aaron. (Numb, xii.) 

This whole region from the southern chain of the Tih to the shore 
of the gulf, is a frightful desert ; and the passage leads through a 
tangled net of deep and narrow passes between perpendicular walls 
of sandstone and granite, often rising several hundred feet in height, 
and emerging out upon the shore by a narrow gorge or pathway. 

This route would seem to be more difficult for the Israelites than 
that proposed by Dr. Wilson, across the desert north of the moun- 
tains. 

The Gulf of Akabah, or the .ZElanitic Gulf. 

The eastern gulf of the Red Sea is narrower than the western ; 
but like that it runs up through the midst of a region totally deso- 
late. The mountains are here higher and more picturesque than 
those that skirt the Gulf of Suez ; the valley between them is nar- 
rower, and the desert plains along the shores are less extensive. 

The shores of the gulf present an undulating outline, approaching 
and receding so as to vary considerably the width of the waters, 
which may have an average breadth of eight or ten miles. The 
mountains along the western coast are mostly precipitous cliffs of 
granite, perhaps eight hundred feet in height, and generally a mile 
from the shore. The entire length of this bay, called Akabah, or 
the jElanitic Gulf, is about eighty miles. 

The Arabah. 

The remarkable chasm which forms the bed of the Akabah con- 
tinues in a direct line from the head waters of the gulf, more than 
a hundred miles to the Dead Sea. 

The whole valley of the Jordan, indeed, is only a continuation 
of the same depression. The bed of the Dead Sea and of the Sea 
of Galilee are only still deeper depressions of this extraordinary 
valley, which extends north in a direct line a distance of not less 
than three hundred and forty miles from the Red Sea, with a varia- 
ble width from five to ten or fifteen miles, comprising the eastern gulf 



KADESH-BARNEA. 71 

of that sea, the Arabah, the Dead Sea, and the whole course of the 
Jordan valley. 

This rent in the earth's surface, is in geology called a crevasse, 
and is the most remarkable of this class of phenomena of which we 
have any knowledge. It opens a wide field of speculation respecting 
the stupendous convulsions and disruptions to which the surface of 
the earth has been subject in the early and unknown ages of its 
existence. From below the Dead Sea northward this valley takes 
the name of the Ghor, a name which it has appropriately received 
from the Arabic language, in which it means a valley between two 
ranges of mountains. 

The western side of the great valley of the Arabah is bounded 
by a lofty line of cliffs, forming an abutment of the great western 
desert, which lies at the height of twelve or fifteen hundred feet 
above the bed of this valley. 

On the east, the mountains of Edom rise a thousand feet above 
the opposite bluffs on the west, and raise the plateau of the great 
eastern desert to a similar elevation above that of the western. 

The bed of this valley is a sandy desert plain, five or six miles in 
width. The northern part of it slopes distinctly to the north towards 
the Dead Sea, so as to forbid the supposition that the waters of Jor- 
dan could ever have flowed through this, beyond the Dead Sea, into 
the eastern gulf of the Hed Sea, as many have supposed. 

It is a curious fact that this immense valley, stretching from sea 
to sea, deep, dreary, and desolate, and embracing at both extremities 
a vast body of water, was totally unknown to modern geographers 
and travellers from Europe, for some years within the present 
century. 

It was, however, the scene of some of the most interesting inci- 
dents in the exodus of the Israelites. It was the field of their 
encampment for eight and thirty years during their wanderings in 
the desert, and became the grave of that rebellious generation whose 
carcasses fell in the wilderness. 

Kadesh-Barnea. 

This is the next station of the Israelites, which they reached 
apparently some time in June of the second year after their de- 
parture from Egypt, and not many days after their departure from 
Horeb. (Numb. xiii. 26; Deut. i. 2.) 

They were now on the borders of the land of their search. Spies 
were sent to examine and report respecting the country, and the 
best means of entering into the possession of it. They traversed 
the whole length of the country to Rehob and Hamath, at the 
northern extremity of the Land of Canaan. 

Forty days afterwards, the delegation returned with flattering 



72 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

accounts of the soil, and of the country, accompanied with dis- 
heartening representations of the warlike character of the inhabit- 
ants, of their giant stature, and the great strength of their cities. 
(Numb, xiii.) 

The region around Kadesh is here denominated the Wilderness 
of Paran. 

At a later period, on their second return to Kadesh, it takes the 
name of the Desert of Zin. 

The position of this place is, by common consent, assigned to the 
northern part of the Arabah, at some distance south of the Dead 
Sea. 

But the exact site of Kadesh cannot perhaps be defined. Dr. 
Robinson conjectures that it may have been at Ainel Weihah, a 
fountain at the mouth of a deep valley that leads up, through the 
mountains, to the high western desert south of Hebron. 

This course, which Dr. Eobinson himself traversed, offered a 
natural and convenient route for the spies, by which to enter Canaan. 
And through this, or some neighbouring pass, they doubtless went 
up to view the land. 

The waters of this fountain are sweeter and more abundant than 
any now known in the Arabah. They are in the line of the great 
thoroughfare of ancient commerce, and near the foot of the princi- 
pal pass to the Great Desert and the southern borders of the hill 
country of Judea above Kadesh-Barnea. 

Sufah is said to be in form identical with Zephath, and Arad is 
still found a few miles north, " a barren-looking eminence rising 
above the country around/' bearing the name and designating the 
site of this ancient city of the Canaanites. 

It seems, therefore, but just to accord to Dr. Robinson the honour 
of having identified this interesting locality. Von Raumer, and 
others, place Kadesh higher up, some miles nearer the Dead Sea. 

The people murmured at the report of the spies, and in conse- 
quence were destined to die in the wilderness, in which they were 
to wander for forty years. 

The pass up which the Israelites, after this sentence from Jehovah, 
probably went to fight with the Amalekites and Canaanites (Numb, 
xiv. 40 — 45), is extremely steep and difficult. The remains of an 
ancient road, formed of steps hewn in the rocks, are perceptible in 
many places, with the ruins of a fortification, at the foot and at the 
summit. The pathway is in a zigzag direction, and much worn. 

Here, says Dr. Durbin, " We were in the great highway of ancient 
commerce between the south and the north. We were climbing up 
the side of the mountain down which the Amorites had chased Israel 
and destroyed them, even unto Hormah. (Deut. i. 44.) 

" Having gained the summit, the first great plateau or steppe, 
being the south country of Judea, expanded upon a level with it, 



KADESH-BARNEA. 73 

formed of low hills, rolling ridges, and fine valleys, sprinkled over 
with grass, wild flowers, and shrubs. We were in the Promised 
Land, and before us lay the pasture-grounds of Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob, upon which they had tented, and over which their flocks had 
roamed." 

From Kadesh-Barnea, the people now turned into the wilderness 
by the eastern gulf of the Ked Sea. (Deut. i. 40 ; ii. 1.) But of 
their subsequent wanderings through the long period of thirty-eight 
years, we have no knowledge. 

The sacred historian passes over this portion of their history in 
perfect silence, save that the eighteen stations between Hazeroth 
and Kadesh, in Numb, xxxiii. IS — 36, were visited in this interval ; 
but nothing is known of the location of any of them. 

The Israelites, like the modern Bedouins, doubtless spent this 
time in roving up and down the Arabah, and over the vast desert 
of Paran, between Sinai and Palestine, according as they could find 
pasturage and water. 

Return to Kadesh. 

In the first month, April, they again returned to Kadesh, which 
they had left, in the third or fourth month, almost thirty-eight years 
before. Here Miriam now dies; the people murmur for water; 
Moses and Aaron bring water from the rocks ; but, in doing it, sin 
against God, and receive sentence of death without seeing that good 
land, beyond Jordan, so long the object of their desire ; a passage is 
demanded through the land of Edom, and is refused. 

The children of Israel then journey from Kadesh to Mount Hor 
or Mosera (Deut. x. 6.), where Aaron dies. (Numb. xx. and xxxiii. 
37, 38.) _ 

While in the vicinity of Mount Hor, the Israelites gained a signal 
victory over the Canaanites, by whom they had been repulsed on 
their attempt to ascend up into Palestine after their murmurs at the 
report of the spies. Arad was overthrown, and the cities of the 
Canaanites were laid waste as far as Hormah, formerly called 
Zephath. (Numb. xxi. 3.) 

Mount Hor. 

This is a high rocky peak in the mountains of Edom, east of the 
Arabah, and situated midway between the Dead Sea and Akabah. 
It rises in lone majesty, above the surrounding summits, and over- 
looks a boundless prospect of craggy cliffs, gloomy ravines, and lofty 
barren deserts. 

The grandeur and sublimity of the scene from the summit of 
Mount Hor, is forcibly sketched by Dr. Wilson in the following 
paragraphs : — 

" After the greatness and peril of the effort which we had been 
7 



74 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

compelled to make, we should, in ordinary circumstances, have been 
elated with the success which we had experienced ; but the wild 
sublimity, and grandeur, and terror of the new and wonderful scene 
around and underneath us, overawed our souls. 

" We were seated on the very throne, as it appeared to us, of 
desolation itself. 

"Its own metropolis of broken, and shattered, and frowning 
heights — ruin piled upon ruin, and dark and devouring depth added 
to depth — lay on our right hand and on our left. 

" To the rising sun, Mount Seir, the pride and glory of Edom, 
and the terror of its adversaries, lay before us — smitten in its length 
and breadth by the hand of the Almighty stretched out against it — 
barren and most desolate, with its daughter, the ' city of the rock,' 
overthrown and prostrate at its feet. To the west, we had the great 
and terrible wilderness, with its deserts, and pits, and droughts, 
spread out before us, without any limit but its own vastness, and 
pronounced by God himself to be the very ( shadow of death.'" 
(Jer. ii. 6.) 

Here Moses took Aaron and Eleazar, and went up into Mount 
Hor in the sight of all the congregation, where these venerable pil- 
grims took of each other their last farewell, " and Aaron died there 
in the top of the mount." 

" And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, jour- 
neyed from Kadesh and came unto Mount Hor. 

" And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor, by 
the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 

" Aaron shall be gathered unto his people ; for he shall not enter 
into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because 
ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. 

" Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up into Mount 
Hor. 

" And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar 
his son, and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die 
there. 

" And Moses did as the Lord commanded ; and they went up into 
Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 

" And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon 
Eleazar his son ; and Aaron died there in the, top of the mount, and 
Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 

u And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they 
mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel." 
(Numb. xx. 22—29.) 

A tomb has been erected to his memory on the summit, which 
has been often visited and described by modern travellers. 

From Mount Hor, the children of Israel passed along the Arabah, 
south to Ezion-Geber, at the head of the eastern or JElanitic gulf, 



ZARED, AND THE LAND OF MOAB. 75 

which is several times denominated the Red Sea. (Deut. i. 40; 
Numb. xxi. 4.) 

Elath and Ezion-Geber were both situated at the head of this 
gulf. The latter afterwards became famous as the port where Solo- 
mon, and after him Jehoshaphat, built fleets to carry on a commerce 
with Ophir. (Deut. ii. 8; 1 Kings ix. 26; 2 Chron. viii. 17, 18.) 

Here they turned eastward, up the pass that leads to the high 
plain of the great eastern desert of Arabia. 

At this place a large defile comes down steeply from the north- 
east through the mountains, forming the main passage out of the 
great valley to this desert. The ascent of the Israelites was, doubt- 
less, through this pass, when they departed from the Red Sea, and 
turned north to "compass Edoni," and to pass on to Moab and to 
the Jordan. 

It was at this point in their wanderings that " the people was 
much discouraged because of the way ;" and they were bitten by 
fiery serpents. (Numb. xxi. 4 — 10 ; Deut. viii. 15.) 

Burckhardt informs us, that this place is still infested by poisonous 
serpents, which are greatly feared by the inhabitants. 

Their course now lay along the border of the eastern desert, west- 
ward of Mount Seir, and around the mountains of Edom. 

The Edomites, who had refused the children of Israel a passage 
through their land from Kadesh, now suffered them to pass unmo- 
lested along their borders on the east, and even supplied them with 
provisions for their march. (Deut. ii. 3 — 6.) 

Nothing is known of the stations of the Israelites in this route, 
until they arrived at the brook Zared, where they ended their pil- 
grimage of forty years in the desert. 

Zared, and the Land of Moab. 

Zared is a small stream which comes down from the desert through 
the mountains, into the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. North 
of this river, and east of the Dead Sea, lay the land of Moab, through 
which they were next to pass. 

The Moabites, once a powerful people east of Jordan and the 
Dead Sea, had been driven south by the Amorites from the plains 
of Moab (Numb. xxii. 1 ; xxxiii. 48), lying along the eastern shore 
of the sea and of Jordan; and were at this time confined within 
narrow limits between the streams Zared and Arnon. (Numb. xxi. 
13, 26 ; Judges xi. 18.) They seem to have been too feeble to 
offer resistance to the progress of the Israelites ; but they succeeded, 
in connection with the Midianites, in enticing, by their wiles, the 
children of Israel into grievous idolatry and sin. (Numb, xxv.) 



76 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 



SlHON OF HeSIIBON. 

The Israelites next encounter a formidable foe in Sihon, king of 
the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. The Amorites were at this 
time a powerful tribe, who had extended their conquests over the 
Ammonites, whose territories extended from the river Arnon, north- 
ward along the shores of the Dead Sea, and up the valley, east of 
Jordan, to the river Jabbak. 

Against this people, Moses waged a war of extermination. (Numb. 
xxi. 12, seq. ; Deut. ii. 26, seq.) 

Heshbon afterwards became a levitical city of Reuben, though 
sometimes assigned also to Gad. (Numb, xxxii. 37 ; Josh. xxi. 89.) 

A few broken pillars, several large cisterns and wells, together 
with extensive ruins, still mark the situation of Heshbon, twenty-one 
miles east of the mouth of the Jordan. These ruins overspread a 
high hill, commanding a wild and desolate scenery on every side : — ■ 
on the north, the mountains of Gilead ; on the west, the valley of 
Jordan, and mountains of Palestine beyond ; and on the east, the 
vast Desert of Arabia, stretching away towards the Euphrates. 

Og oe Bashan. 

The next conquest of the Israelites was over Og, king of Bashan, 
who ruled over the territory east of the sea of Galilee, and the north- 
eastern portion of the valley of the Jordan. 

This expedition, which required a march of some sixty miles north 
from Heshbon, resulted in the death of the king of Bashan, the 
capture of his cities, and the overthrow of the kingdom. On their 
return from this conquest, they removed and took up their final 
station at Beth-peor, in the plains of Moab, east of Jordan, and over 
against Jericho. (Deut. iv. 46; Josh. xiii. 20.) 

The Moabites, against whom the children of Israel had no hostile 
intentions, discouraged at the catastrophe of the king of the Amorites 
and of Bashan, formed an alliance with the Midianites against Israel; 
and called Balaam from the land of their common ancestry, whence 
Abraham came, and where Jacob dwelt so long, to curse the people 
whom God had so signally blessed. (Numb. xxii. xxiii. xxiv.) 

Failing in their fruitless endeavours to prevail by enchantment, 
they had recourse to other wiles, in which they were more successful. 

At the advice of Balaam, they seduced the Israelites into impurity 
and idolatry. 

The consequences were appalling to all parties. Twenty-four 
thousand of the Israelites were smitten with a plague, and died. 
The kings of Midian and Moab were vanquished, their cities were 
destroyed, and the people and their wicked advisers slain. (Numb. 
xxv. xxxi. 1 — 25; Deut. xxiii. 3 — 6.) 



DEATH OF MOSES. , 77 



Death of Moses. 



Under the guidance of the God of Israel, Moses had at length 
brought their long pilgrimage to a happy issue. 

The perils and privations of the wilderness were all passed. 
Every formidable foe had disappeared. The land of which the Lord 
had so often spoken in promise, and towards which the aged leader 
of Israel had been journeying so long, now lay in full view before 
him, beyond Jordan. 

Nothing was more natural than that he should earnestly desire to 
pass over, and see it before he died. u I pray thee let me go over 
and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, 
and Lebanon." (Deut. iii. 23 — 26.) This cherished desire, how- 
ever, he submissively yields in accordance with the decree of God, 
and spends his remaining days in preparing to leave his people. 
He prays for the appointment of a fit successor to lead them out and 
bring them in, " that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep 
which have no shepherd." (Numb, xxvii. 16, 17.) 

He delivers all those affectionate and importunate exhortations 
contained in Deuteronomy ; he recapitulates to the generation that 
had sprung up around him in the wilderness, the dealings of God 
towards himself and their fathers ; he rehearses the commandments 
of God, with the blessing and the curse that should follow; he 
causes the people to renew their covenant with God, and urges them 
to obedience by every pathetic and solemn motive, enforced by his 
own dying testimony of the faithfulness of God. 

Notwithstanding his advanced age of one hundred and twenty 
years, " his eye was not dim, nor his natural strength abated m " but 
the day had come when he must die, according to the stern decree 
of God, before the people should pass over to possess the land. The 
self-same day that he finished his exhortations, he took an affecting 
farewell of his people, passing through the tribes, and pronouncing 
upon each a solemn benediction. Then he exclaims, in conclusion, 
" There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun. Happy art thou, 
Israel : who is like thee, people saved by the Lord I" (Deut. 
xxxii., xxxiii.) 

In this triumphant spirit he went up from the plains of Moab 
unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, opposite Jericho, 
and died there, according to the word of the Lord, b. c. 1451. 

Weep not for him, the Man of God — 

In yonder vale he sunk to rest; 
But none of earth can point the sod 

That flowers above his sacred breast. 
Weep, children of Israel, weep. 



78 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

His doctrine fell like heaven's rain, 

His words refreshed like heaven's dew — 

Oh, ne'er shall Israel see again 
A chief, to God and her so true. 
Weep, children of Israel, weep. 

Remember ye his parting gaze, 

His farewell song by Jordan's tide, 
When, full of glory and of days, 

He saw the promised land — and died. 
Weep, children of Israel, weep ! — Moore. 

Nations Bordering on Canaan. 

The bordering nations mentioned in Scripture are the Philistines, 
Phoenicians, Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, Edomites, and Ama- 
lekites. 

1. The Philistines, although they were settled in Palestine in the 
time of the Patriarchs, were not Canaanites but strangers, who had 
probably migrated, or had been expelled, from Egypt. They drove 
out the Arites, a Canaanitish tribe, and established themselves in 
their room, in the small strip of territory on the south-west coast, 
from a point below Joppa to Gaza. Here they maintained them- 
selves for many generations, and, at times, made their power felt in 
the interior and in the south, long after the land of Canaan had been 
conquered by the Israelites. Their chief towns, each the seat of a dis- 
tinct state or republic, were Gath, Ekron, Ashdod, Ascalon, and Gaza. 

2. The Phoenicians, although Canaanites by origin, were not 
among the doomed nations whom the Israelites were ordered to expel. 
In fact, their presence was rather useful than otherwise to the Hebrew 
nation : and very friendly relations subsisted between them, which 
were much to the temporal advantage of both nations. The Phoeni- 
cians needed the products of the soil, which the Israelites raised in 
abundance ; and the Israelites wanted the various commodities which 
the traffic of the Phoenicians afforded, and for which they were glad 
to exchange their corn, wine, and oil. 

This intercourse was chiefly with the southern states of Tyre and 
Sidon, the more northern states being little noticed in the history of 
the Jews. As a nation, the Phoenicians occupied the northern por- 
tion of that extended plain along the coast, the southern portion of 
which was in the hands of the Philistines. 

3. Moab and Amnion were the descendants of the two sons of 
Lot, the nephew of Abraham. They established themselves in the 
country to the east of the river Jordan, in territories from which 
they expelled the aboriginal inhabitants, the gigantic races of the 
Emim and Zamzummim. The Moabites had their territory to the 
east of the Dead Sea and the lower Jordan ; and the Ammonites 
lived to the north-east of Moab. The chief town of the Moabites 
was Ar, or Rabbath-Ammon, or Areopolis, as it was afterwards called, 



NATIONS BORDERING ON CANAAN. 79 

situated upon the south bank of the Arnon, some ruins of which 
may still be traced. 

4. The Midianites were descended from Midian, the fourth son 
of Abraham, by his second wife Keturah. (Gen. xxv. 1, 2.) Their 
territory lay to the east and south-east of that of the Moabites. They 
seem to have been a more pastoral and less settled people than the 
Moabites, in alliance with whom we usually find them acting. By 
the time that history introduces us to them, they appear to have 
become wholly idolatrous. (Numb. xxii. 2 — 7 ; xxxi.) 

Another tribe of the Midianites was established about the head 
of the eastern arm (Elanitic Grulf) of the Red Sea; among whom 
Moses found refuge when he fled from Egypt. They appear to have 
been a branch of the same stock, although it has been thought that 
the name of Cushites, which is sometimes given to them (Numb. xii. 
1; Hab. iii. 7), indicated a descent from Midian, the son of Cush. 

This, however, might be ascribed to their occupation of a territory 
usually considered as belonging to Cush or Ethiopia ; and it is an 
argument in favour of their descent from Abraham, that these Mid- 
ianites still retained, in the time of Moses, the knowledge of the true 
God, which the world in general had lost. These distant Midianites 
had little connection with the Jewish history after the time of Moses. 

5. The Edomites were descended from Edom or Esau, the son of 
Isaac and brother of Jacob. They were settled in the mountains of 
Seir, which extend along the eastern side of the great valley of Ara- 
bah between the Dead Sea and the Elanitic Gulf. In a valley among 
these mountains, the remains of Petra, the chief city of Edom, have 
only lately been discovered, and have been viewed with much won- 
der on account of the beautiful tombs and other monuments hewn 
in the surrounding cliffs. 

While the land was comparatively depopulated, during the cap- 
tivity of the Jews in Babylon, the Edomites established themselves 
in the south-eastern parts of Judea, whence, as already mentioned, 
that quarter came to be called Idumea, or the country of the Idu- 
means or Edomites. 

6. The Amalekites were descended from Amalek, the son of Ham, 
and grandson of Noah. They were the most bitter enemies of the 
Israelites, by whom they were at last exterminated. We find them 
first in the fertile valleys near the foot of Mount Sinai (Exod. xvii. 
8 — 16) ; and afterwards on the southern borders of Palestine. They 
seem to have been a pastoral people ; and in that quarter there is a 
much larger extent of fine pasture grounds than was, until lately, 
supposed. 

All these nations have long been extinct, some before and others 
after the final dispersion of the Jews.* 

* Dr. Kitto, in ' CvcloDsedia of Biblical Literature.' 



CHAPTER VII. 

Canaan, or Palestine. 

Canaan, the theatre of so many wonderful events — the chosen seat 
of God's chosen people — the centre whence Christianity was spread 
through all nations — occupies a comparatively small portion of the 
earth's surface, and if considered merely as regards its geographical 
importance, would demand from us only a cursory notice. But when 
we reflect on the great events which have dignified this small terri- 
tory, we forget the insignificance of its extent ; and every spot be- 
comes of interest — every physical feature worthy of investigation — 
as elucidating some description or allusion of the inspired writings. 

Position. 

At the eastern extremity of the Mediterranean Sea, pressed in 
between it on the west, and the desert of Syria on the east, lies a 
long strip of mountainous territory, narrowed in to the south. where 
it approaches Egypt, and gradually widening to the north so as to 
form a kind of elongated triangle, of which the sea forms one side 
and the desert the other, while its base rests upon Mesopotamia and 
Asia Minor. The narrow or south-western portion of this elevated 
district is the country of which we now speak, and which at different 
times has been known as " Canaan," the " Promised Land ;" " Pales- 
tine," the u Holy Land f and by the Romans was called the king- 
dom, and afterwards, the province of Judea. 

Names. 

It may not be uninteresting to trace the origin of these different 
names. 

(1) Canaan, the earliest title which is used to designate the land, 
was derived from its first inhabitants, who were descendants of Ca- 
naan, the fourth son of Ham. The first time that the country is 
mentioned is when we are told Terah and his family " went forth 
from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan."* It would 
appear (from a comparison of Gen. xvi. 35, and Josh. v. 10 and 11), 
that this name was originally applied only to that portion west of 
the Jordan, which lay between the Phoenicians on the north and 
the Philistines on the south, and the eastern district was then called 
for distinction the land of Gilead. In later times the whole western 
district, including Phoenicia and the land of the Philistines, was em- 
braced under this denomination. 

* Genesis, xi. 31. 

(80) 



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fa -I 1 1 

I f !*' Hi'l f 

1 1 1 ? t p r > 




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wW IS 1 



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or '\ 1 ~ "Vl^-<^^'r^y^> 



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I&7 







EXTENT OF PALESTINE. 81 

(2) Land of Israel. — This designation was applied from Israel, 
the name given to Jacob ', it denoted strictly the territory divided 
amongst his descendants, the heritage of the twelve tribes, and was 
used rather to distinguish it from, than to include, the conquests of 
David and Solomon. After the division of the kingdom it was 
restricted to the territories of the ten tribes which had revolted with 
Jeroboam • while the possessions of Judah and Benjamin which re- 
mained faithful to Rehoboani were distinguished as the land of Judah. 

(3) The Promised Land, or the Land of Promise, is applied to 
it in the Old Testament before the Israelites obtained possession, 
and while it was in fact still the land which the Almighty had prom- 
ised to Abraham, who " by faith sojourned in the Land of Promise 
as in a strange country."* 

(4) The Holy Land. — This title must be considered rather in a 
Christian than in a Jewish sense ; it is true that it is once used in 
Zachariah, " The Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion in the Holy 
Land;" and in many passages of Scripture it is referred to as pecu- 
liarly God's land, as the place where he established his people and 
fixed his temple and worship. Thus in Psalm lxxxv. 1, we find 
"Lord thou hast been favourable unto thy land ;" and in Isaiah 
viii. 8, " thy land, Emmanuel." The general use of the name, 
however, dates from the Christian writers, and more particularly 
from the time of the Crusaders, who considered it holy because hal- 
lowed by the footsteps of the Messiah, and sanctified by his death 
and resurrection. 

(5) Judah or Judea, originally applied to the territory of the tribe 
so called, and was then, as has been above stated, used to distinguish 
that portion, including Benjamin, which remained faithful to Reho- 
boam. After the dispersion of the ten tribes these alone remained, 
or rather were brought back to the land; and in the Roman period 
the name was used in a vague manner for the whole country, but 
when strictly employed meant the southern part, to distinguish it 
from Samaria and Galilee to the north and Perasa to the east. 

Lastly, Palestine, which does not occur in the Hebrew, is derived 
from Philistia, the name given to the southern coast plain inhabited 
by the Philistines. The name occurs with this limited meaning 
frequently in the sacred writings, and was used by most ancient wri- 
ters in an extended sense to signify the whole of the land, as well 
east as west of the Jordan, inhabited by the Israelites. 

Extent. 

To describe this country by its geographical position, we find that 
it is included between the parallels of 30° 40' and 33° 32' of north 
latitude, and its extreme south-west and north-eastern points stretch 

* Hebrews xi. 9. 



82 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

from 33° 45' to 35° 48' of east longitude; these limiting lines, 
however, owing to the peculiar conformation of the country, give a 
very inadequate notion of either its dimensions or climate. 

As to the precise limits of a fluctuating kingdom, some uncer- 
tainty must exist where natural boundaries fail. From the expres- 
sion " from Dan to Beersheba" being used in the Bible to signify 
the whole extent of the country, these towns were for a long period 
assumed as the limits to the north and south of Palestine Proper. 
No safe conclusion can however be drawn from a phrase so general, 
and a more careful examination of the sacred writings would show, 
as we shall presently prove, that from Mount Hermon to Kadesh- 
Barnea, gives a more accurate estimate of the extreme length to 
which the Jewish territories extended. This gives a line in a direc- 
tion nearly due north and south of 180 miles. We may assume the 
average breadth at 65 miles (the greatest being 100), and it is toler- 
ably uniform throughout the entire length ; for though in the south 
the Jordan leaves a greater space between it and the sea than in the 
north, the possessions of the tribes east of that river increased the 
breadth of the northern portion to a corresponding extent. Sup- 
posing the country to be a uniform plain, it would occupy a super- 
ficial extent of about 11,000 square miles; but here again the 
singular physical structure of this peculiar region sets our calcula- 
tions astray, for, from the irregularity of its surface, the slopes of 
the hills and mountains must increase to an enormous degree the 
extent of surface available for agriculture. If without taking this 
increase into account we wish to form a comparative notion of the 
size of the country, we shall find that it is not a fifth part of the 
extent of England and Wales, and perhaps approximates more closely 
to Switzerland than to any other European State. 

What a small spot is this to fill so many pages of history and 
excite the interest of the learned of every age and nation ! Vast 
and fruitful continents have been discovered where man may delight 
himself in all that is good and beautiful in nature. Empires teeming 
with inhabitants to an almost fabulous amount have excited human 
curiosity, but still this small spot on the "mid earth sea" has never 
lost its attraction for the Christian. Nor need we wonder at this, 
for it is not numbers which ever give a lasting fame to nations, nor 
the extent of territory which they have succeeded in bringing under 
one sceptre, but the intellectual and inward life which has been 
developed amongst them, the knowledge which they have trans- 
mitted, or the institutions of which they have been the originators 
or the depositaries. 

Boundaries. 

A more particular examination of the boundaries will perhaps 
afford a better knowledge of the exact extent and limits of the king- 



BOUNDARIES OF PALESTINE. 83 

dom, besides making us more fully acquainted with, the external 
circumstances which influenced the history of its inhabitants. The 
only source from which we can derive information on this subject is 
the sacred narrative; and the difficulty in applying the very full 
notices there given consists in tracing in the wretched villages of 
the present occupiers of the land the ancient cities which are 
specified as the marks of boundary. The natural features are more 
easily identified, even under change of name and the wildness of 
neglect. 

On the west the Mediterranean furnished a natural barrier through 
the whole length of the land. " And as for the western border, 
ye shall have even the great sea for a border." * Yet here we must 
distinguish between the extent as apportioned to the tribes by Moses 
and Joshua, and that which they actually and permanently held in 
possession and occupancy. Thus in the south-west, the Philistines, 
though occasionally subjected, were never dispossessed of the coast 
district, which nominally was in the dominions of Dan and Simeon. 
On the north the Phoenicians held the coast as far south as Acre, 
and it was only the intermediate portion, or about one-third of the 
whole coast line, that was really under Jewish dominion. We shall 
the less wonder at this renunciation, or at least apathy with regard 
to the possession of the coast, when we recollect that the Jews of old 
were essentially an agricultural and non-commercial people, who, 
though stimulated by the example of their busy neighbours the 
Phoenicians, never made any progress in maritime affairs, except the 
unusual and temporary efforts in commerce in the time of Solomon. 
All their pursuits and feelings drew them inland, and even the rule 
of their religion, which required their presence at the annual feasts 
at Jerusalem, would prevent the prosecution of lengthened voyages. 

The eastern boundary, as regards defence, may be said to be 
natural also, though its exact line cannot be easily or with certainty 
determined. The desert shut them in; but the Ammonites and 
Moabites clung along their border towards the south. The Jordan 
and the Dead Sea formed the physical boundary of the western por- 
tion, or Canaan Proper. The extent of the eastern district is not 
so easily ascertained. The description of it given in Deut. iii. 10, 
is u the land that was on this side Jordan from the river of Arnon 
unto Mount Hermon ; all the cities of the plain, and all Grilead and 
all Bashan unto Salchali and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og, 
in Bashan." Now Burckhardt visited a town far to the east in the 
Hauran called Salkhad, which is surmised to be the site of the 
ancient Salchah here mentioned ; if this be so, the border must have 
run from Hermon to it in a south-eastern direction, and then turned 

■* Numbers, xxxiv. 6. 



84 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

southward, with a gradual leaning to the west, until it struck upon 
the Arnon, which river was the southern limit on the eastern side 
of the Dead Sea. This would include a wide sweep of territory, 
and yield a goodly heritage to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of 

Manasseh. 

The northern boundary from Hermon to the sea presents many 
difficulties, and must remain a matter of surmise from the absence 
of any well-marked natural barriers. The description which we find 
in Numbers is — a From the great sea ye shall point out for you 
Mount Hor ; from Mount Hor ye shall point out your border into 
the entrance of Hamath ; and the goings forth of the border shall 
be to Zedad ; and the border shall go on to Ziphron ; and the 
goings out of it shall be at Hazer-enan : this shall be your north 
border." (Numbers xxxiv. 7 — 9.) One great difficulty is removed 
from the interpretation of this passage by attending to the phrase 
which is here translated " Mount Hor ?' it is u hor-lia-hor" liter- 
ally " the mountain the mountain /' or, since this is a Hebrew form 
of the superlative, "the great mountain/' which obviously refers to 
Lebanon, as Mount Hor lies far to the south. Without then enter- 
ing into a minute investigation of the sites of the intermediate 
places above enumerated, we may conclude that the boundary ran 
in an irregular line from Hermon by the south of Lebanon to the 
sea below Sidon, though, as before remarked, the tribe of Asher did 
not actually occupy the coast farther north than Acre. 

There now remains only the southern border to be considered, and 
here again we must refer to the text. " Your south quarter shall 
be from the wilderness of Zin, along by the coast of Edom ; and 
your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea east- 
ward; and your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of 
Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin : and the going forth thereof shall be 
from the south to Kadesh Barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, 
and pass on to Azmon ; and the border shall fetch a compass from 
Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at 
the sea." (Numbers xxxiv. 3 — 6.) Now though the sites of 
Hazar-addar and Azmon have not been ascertained, the observations 
of Dr. Robinson appear to have removed all doubts as to the general 
line, by fixing the site of Kadesh-Barnea, which is here mentioned 
as the southern limit. The line ran from the south-eastern extre- 
mity of the Dead Sea by the ascent of Akrabbim, at the head of 
Arabah, down that valley to a point below the modern "Ain el 
Weibah/' which, though not without some diversity of opinion, is 
assumed to be the position of the ancient Kadesh. This is more 
than half a degree further south than Beersheba, and whether quite 
so far to the south or not, Kadesh was certainly in the line here 
indicated. From this point the boundary ran nearly due west to the 



BOUNDARIES OF PALESTINE. 85 

Mediterranean at the river of Egypt, which has been identified with 
the modern stream that flows into the sea near El Arish. We also 
know from the same learned author, that the region south of Beer- 
sheba thus included in the Hebrew dominions is not, as was sup- 
posed, a barren wilderness, but has scattered through it districts 
which afford abundant pasture, and over which, at the present day, 
as well as in the times of the patriarchs, the herdsmen drive their 
flocks during the favourable season. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Physical Geography of Palestine. 

Having in the preceding pages marked off by metes and bounds, 
with sufficient accuracy for any purpose except antiquarian research, 
the portion of surface which forms the subject of our inquiry, we 
shall now proceed to examine the physical character of the country 
enclosed within them. 

It is chiefly to the observations of comparatively modern travellers 
that we are indebted for our knowledge of the singular physical con- 
formation of this interesting country. The first great step to a cor- 
rect explanation of its formation and singular climatic phenomena, 
was the proof by Symonds and Lynch of the remarkable depression 
of the Dead Sea below the level of the Mediterranean. But instead 
of tracing the physical facts in the order of discovery, we will take 
the usual and convenient division of the surface into plains, table- 
lands, and mountains, necessarily adding in the case of this country 
a fourth class — that of regions of depression. We may, from their 
climatic conditions, term these the warm, temperate, arctic, and tro- 
pical regions. With the exception of the arctic or region of snow- 
covered mountains which lies rather to the north of our boundary 
in the district of Lebanon, these may be said to run in ridges parallel 
to the Mediterranean coast. The plains lie along the sea, and from 
these spring the table-lands which suddenly sink into the depressed 
valley of the Jordan, to rise again to a corresponding height on the 
east of that river. 

SECTION I. 

Mountainous Hegion. 

Though a glance at the boundaries which we have assigned to 
Canaan will show that the snowy heights of Lebanon lie without the 
borders, and that their termination forms in fact the northern limit, 
still some notice of them is necessary to give a satisfactory view of 
the physical system of the country as a whole, since it is manifest 
from their structure that they are of the same geological formation 
as the table-lands which prolong them to the south, and form the 
great trunk from which the other mountains ramify, even as far south 
as Mount Sinai and along the eastern side of the Red Sea. 

Lebanon. 

Lebanon, the great mount of Syria, consists of two ridges of great 
elevation, including between them a long valley called El Bukaa, 

(86) 



PALESTINE — MOUNTAINS OF LEBANON. 87 

the Ccele-Syria, or hollow Syria of the ancients. The name is de- 
rived from the whiteness either of their cretaceous cliffs, or the snow 
upon their summits. The eastern range is called for distinction 
Anti-Lebanon; but the present inhabitants call the two ranges Jebel 
Libnan (manifestly a corruption of the old name), and Jebel esh 
Shurky, or the eastern mountain. Their general direction is from 
north-east to south-west. Only two of the summits, Jebel Makmel, 
the highest peak of the Lebanon, estimated at 9,375 feet in height, 
and Jebel esh Sheikh, the ancient Hermon, and loftiest of the entire 
range (being 10,000 feet high), near the southern extremity of Anti- 
Lebanon, are permanently covered with snow or ice ; but it lies along 
all the summits for several months, in quantities and for periods 
varying with the severity of the season. On the western sides it 
remains longer than on the eastern, and generally only in the cre- 
vices and hollows, so as to present at the distance a series of irregu- 
lar bars or rays of white descending from the snowy summits. The 
western range terminates at the sea-coast near Tyre ; but Anti-Leba- 
non in its course southward throws out several branches, one to the 
east towards Damascus, south of which runs the Barada (ancient 
Pharphar) valley and river, and one which stretches to the west until 
it is separated from its companion Lebanon only by the deep gorge 
through which the Litani (ancient Leontes) finds its exit from the 
Bukaa valley, and then bends southward in a broad and low tract 
round Lake Huleh, (the ancient waters of Merom,) to Safed. From 
Hermon a comparatively low spur runs southward, while a longer 
branch after bending to the east curves southward also, shutting in 
the valley and lake of Huleh on the east as Jebel Safed does on the 
west. In the basin thus enclosed lie the sources of the Jordan. 
After their parting near Mount Hermon the two chains do not re- 
unite, but run in nearly parallel ridges at opposite sides of the Ghor, 
inclosing the sea of Galilee, the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the Ara- 
bah ; the western rising at its termination into the mountains of 
Sinai, while the eastern skirts the opposite side of the Gulf of Aka- 
bah and the Red Sea to its mouth. The whole length, including the 
Syrian mountain, would reach to nearly 340 geographical miles. 

These mountains are composed almost entirely of indurated chalk 
or Jura limestone, with occasional patches of basalt and sandstone. 
There are extensive calcareous deposits round the edges of some of 
the valleys, and even near the summits, abounding in shells of recent 
formation ) afid various patches of sandstone are here and there found 
overlying the Jurassic limestone and indurated chalk on the western 
as well as on the eastern face of Lebanon : these patches, generally 
speaking, are more genial to the snobar, or pine, than to the olive. 
To the west and south-west of the town of Beyrut, there are red 
sand-hills rising to the height of about 300 feet. 

"The Lebanon," says an Arabian poet, " bears winter on his head, 



88 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

spring on his shoulders, and autumn in his bosom, while summer lies 
sleeping at his feet ;" this truly, as well as poetically, describes the 
variations of temperature and vegetation along the slopes of these 
snow-capped mountains. 

For some distance from the summit all is barren, and we then find 
a few stunted oaks, while mulberries, fig-trees and vines, with bar- 
ley, corn, maize, in occasional patches, clothe its sides lower down. 
The western slope of Lebanon towards the Mediterranean, and the 
eastern side of Anti-Lebanon towards Damascus, alone seem culti- 
vated; the intermediate valley and its sides are abandoned to the 
sterility of neglect. The characteristic cultivated plants, are the mul- 
berry, the olive, and the vine. The western side towards the Medi- 
terranean abounds in streams from the summits, and is carefully cul- 
tivated in successive terraces, artificially constructed to prevent the 
soil from being washed off, and to retain the water for irrigation. 
Here are " fountains of gardens, wells of living waters and streams 
from Lebanon/ '* reminding the traveller of what this whole region 
was in the times of the great Jewish monarch. The following is a 
portion of Volney's eloquent description of these mountains : — 

" Lebanon, which gives its name to the whole extensive chain of 
the Kesraoun and the country of the Druses, presents us everywhere 
with majestic mountains. At every step we meet with scenes in 
which nature displays either beauty or grandeur. When we land on 
the coast, the loftiness and steep ascent of this mountainous ridge 
which seems to enclose the country — those gigantic masses which 
shoot into the clouds — inspire astonishment and awe. Should the 
anxious traveller then climb those summits which bounded his 
view, the wide, extended space which he discovers becomes a fresh 
subject of admiration. But completely to enjoy this majestic scene, 
must he ascend to the very point of Lebanon, or the Sannin. There, 
on every side, he will view an horizon without bounds ; while in clear 
weather the sight is lost over the desert which extends to the Per- 
sian Gulf, and over the sea which bathes the coasts of Europe. He 
seems to command the whole world, while the wandering eye, now 
surveying the successive chains of mountains, transports the imagi- 
nation in an instant from Antioch to Jerusalem ; and now approach- 
ing the surrounding objects, observes the distant profundity of the 
coast, till the attention, at length fixed by distincter objects, more 
minutely examines the rocks, woods, torrents, hill-sides, villages and 
towns; and the mind secretly exults at the diminution of things 
which formerly appeared so great. He contemplates the valley, 
obscured by stormy clouds, with a novel delight, and smiles at hear- 
ing the thunder, which had so often burst over his head, growing be- 
neath his feet; while the threatening summits of the mountain are 

* Sol. Songs, iv. 15. 



PALESTINE — MOUNTAINS OF LEBANON. 89 

diminished till they appear like the furrows of a ploughed field or 
the steps of an amphitheatre ; and he feels himself flattered by an 
elevation above so many great objects, on which pride makes him 
look down with a secret satisfaction. 

" When the traveller visits the interior parts of these mountains, 
the ruggedness of the roads, the steepness of the descents, the height 
of the precipices, strike him at first with terror ; but the sagacity of 
his mule soon relieves him, and he examines at leisure those pictur- 
esque scenes which succeed each other to entertain him. There, as 
in the Alps, he travels for whole days to a place that was in sight at 
his departure : he winds, he descends, he skirts the hills, he climbs ; 
and in this perpetual change of position it seems as if some magic 
power varied for him at every step the decorations of the scenery. 
Sometimes he sees villages as if ready to glide from the steep decliv- 
ities on which they are built, and so dispersed that the terraced roofs 
of one row of houses serve as a street to the row above them. Some- 
times he sees a convent standing on a solitary eminence, like Mar 
Shaya, in the valley of the Tigris. Here is a rock perforated by a 
torrent, and becoming a natural arch, like that of Nahr-el-Leben (or 
" River of Milk "). There another rock, worn perpendicular, resem- 
bles a lofty wall. In many places, the waters, meeting with inclined 
beds, have undermined the intermediate earth, and formed caverns, 
as at Nahr-el-Kelb, near Antura; in others are formed subterraneous 
channels, through which flow rivulets for a part of the year, as at 
Mar Elias-el-Roum and Mar Hanna ; but these picturesque situations 
sometimes become tragical. From thaws and earthquakes, rocks 
have been known to lose their equilibrium, roll down upon the adja- 
cent houses, and bury the inhabitants. It might be expected that 
such accidents would disgust the inhabitants of those mountains ; 
but, besides that they are rare, they are compensated by an advan- 
tage which makes them prefer their habitations to the most fertile 
plains : I mean the security they enjoy from the oppressions of the 
Turks. This security is esteemed so valuable a blessing by the 
inhabitants, that they have displayed an industry on those rocks 
which we may elsewhere look for in vain. By dint of art and labour 
they have compelled a rocky soil to become fertile. Sometimes to 
profit by the water, they conduct it by a thousand windings along 
the declivities, or stop it by forming dams in the valleys ) while in 
other places they prop up ground, ready to crumble away, by walls 
and terraces. Almost all these mountains, thus laboured, present 
the appearance of a flight of stairs, each step of which is a row of 
vines or mulberry trees. I have reckoned from one hundred to one 
hundred and twenty of these gradations in the same declivity from 
the bottom of the valley to the top of the eminence." 



90 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

SECTION II. 

Table Lands. 

Under this term we shall include not only the plateaus which 
abound in central and eastern Judea, but also the remarkable points 
which rise above them. " A mountainous tract extends without 
interruption from the plain of Esdraelon to a line drawn between 
jbhe south end of the Dead Sea and the south-east corner of the 
Mediterranean : or more properly, perhaps, it may be regarded as 
extending as far south as Jebel Araif in the desert, where it sinks 
down at once to the level of the great western plateau. This tract, 
which is everywhere not less than from twenty to twenty-five geo- 
graphical miles in breadth, is in fact a high uneven table-land. It 
everywhere forms the precipitous western wall of the great valley of 
the Jordan and the Dead Sea ; while towards the west it sinks down 
by an offset into a range of lower hills, which lie between it and the 
great plain along the coast of the Mediterranean. The surface of 
this upper region is everywhere rocky, uneven, and mountainous; 
and it is moreover cut up by deep valleys, which run east or west on 
either side towards the Jordan or the Mediterranean. The line of 
division, or water-shed, between the waters of these valleys, — a term 
which here applies almost exclusively to the waters of the rainy 
season, — follows for the most part the height of land along the ridge ; 
yet not but that the heads of the valleys, which run off in different 
directions, often interlap for a considerable distance. Thus, for 
example, a valley which descends to the Jordan often has its head 
a mile or two westward of the commencement of other valleys, which 
run to the western sea. From the great plain of Esdraelon onwards 
towards the south, the mountainous country rises gradually, forming 
the tract anciently known as the mountains of Ephraim and Judah, 
until in the vicinity of Hebron it attains an elevation of nearly 3,000 
Paris feet above the level of the Mediterranean Sea. Further north, 
on a line drawn from the north end of the Dead Sea towards the 
true west, the ridge has an elevation of only about 2,500 Paris feet; 
and here, close upon the water-shed, lies the city of Jerusalem."* 

A similar belt of elevated country, of a height of from 2,000 to 
3,000 feet above the level of the sea, or from 3,000 to 4,000 feet 
higher than the intermediate valley, runs southward along the east 
side of the Jordan, though it does not rise so immediately from the 
Grhor. This tract is also broken by wadys, or deep valleys, through 
which streams and mountain torrents run to swell the floods of the 
Jordan; but owing to the small number of travellers who have 
visited the eastern region, our knowledge of its physical features is 

* Robinson, vol. i. 880.^ 



PALESTINE — HERMON, TABOR, ETC. 91 

by no means complete. To the long spine on the west are attached 
the ribs, which spread out into the plain, many of which, though 
lofty as measured from the plain at their base, are in reality lower 
than the central plateau. 

Hermon. 

From the circumstance that Tabor and Hermon are mentioned in 
conjunction by the Psalmist, early travellers in Palestine seem to 
have sought for the site of the latter mountain, within the limits of 
the Jewish territory, and to the south of Tabor; and the extremity 
of a low ridge which projects into the plain of Esdraelon was fixed 
upon at the time of the Crusades, and retains the modern name of 
Little Hermon. There seems, however, after the observations of 
recent travellers, to be no doubt that the snow-covered culminating 
peak of Anti-Lebanon called Jebel el Sheikh, or u old man's moun- 
tain," from its hoary head, is that which is so frequently referred to 
by the sacred writers under the name of Hermon, and sometimes 
under its Sidonian name Sirion. Its white summit towering above 
the northern frontier of the land, forms a conspicuous object, both 
from Tabor and the plain, and would naturally present, to a poetic 
mind, an emblem of sublimity and power. After the full accounts 
above given of the character and physical features of the whole 
chain of Lebanon, it is not necessary to enter upon any special 
account of this particular portion of it, which is not distinguished 
from the remainder of the chain by any peculiarity,, except its supe- 
rior elevation. 

Tabor. 

First in order from the north, after leaving Lebanon, we find 
Tabor, a detached mountain of the moderate elevation of about 1,700 
feet. Seen from the south-west, it presents the appearance of the 
segment of a sphere ; seen from W. N. W., the form inclines more 
to a truncated cone. It is wholly composed of limestone, and the 
sides are covered with trees to the very summit, which is a beautiful 
little oblong grassy plain or basin, commanding an extensive view 
of the adjoining region. This mountain has been pointed out by 
ecclesiastical tradition from a very early period as the scene of the 
Transfiguration. 

Little Hermon and Gtilboa. 

Next comes Jebel ed Dahi, which, in the fourth century, obtained 
the name of Little Hermon, from a mistaken notion that it was the 
mountain so called in Scripture. Very little interest attaches to it 
either historically or naturally; it is computed as 1,846 feet in 
height. The mountains of Grilboa, on the contrary, though a low 
ridge, possess a considerable historical interest, for here Saul and 



92 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

his sons fell in fight against the Philistines. At the western ex- 
tremity of this ridge, on a bluff more than one hundred feet above 
the plain, was situated the town of Jezreel, which gave its name at 
one period to the whole plain. It sends out, towards the north-west, 
a line of heights, which skirt the plain of Esdraelon, and unite with 
the celebrated Mount Carmel, whose length runs in the same general 
direction. 

Carmel. 

Carmel in Hebrew means "a garden," and from the frequen 
allusions in Scripture to its " excellency" and beauty, as well as from 
the name, must have been at one time highly cultivated; even still 
upon its side is " a thick jungle of prickly oak, mountain juniper, 
thorns and grasses intermixed with many beautiful odoriferous plants 
and flowers, growing most luxuriantly."* Schubert estimates its 
height at 1,200 feet. Near its summit is a monastery, and at its 
base the chief sources of the Kishon. 

GERIZIM AND EbAL. 

Returning again to our base, we next reach the mountains of 
Samaria, of which the most remarkable, both in appearance and 
historic associations, are the twin mountains, Gerizim and Ebal. 
From these it was that after the entranee into the promised land the 
Law was proclaimed to the Jewish people. On Ebal was set up the 
altar and the pillar inscribed with the Law, and the people stood 
half on Ebal and half on Gerizim, and responded to the blessings 
and denunciations as they were recited by the priests, hence they 
are sometimes called the mounts of blessing and of cursing. On 
Gerizim, after the revolt of the ten tribes, a temple was erected in 
opposition to that at Jerusalem, which continued to be the place of 
Samaritan worship. " Our fathers," said the woman of Samaria, 
"worshipped in this mountain, while ye say that in Jerusalem is 
the place where men ought to worship."")" A Muslim Wali (or holy 
tomb) now stands conspicuously on its summit, and around it are 
extensive ruins. The people of the neighbourhood still make pro- 
cessions to it, and sometimes sacrifice on the top. 

The two mountains rise on opposite sides of a long narrow valley, 
running W. N. W., in which is situated the village of Nabulus, the 
ancient Shechem; Ebal is the farthest to the north. They appear 
of moderate height, rising only about 800 feet above the valley, 
which, however, itself is considerably above the sea level ; and Geri- 
zim, which is somewhat higher than Ebal, is, according to Schubert, 
2,500 feet high. They both spread out at the top into tables, on 
which ruins are discernable ; and Ebal, along the foot, is full of an- 

* Dr. Wilson. f John, iv. 20. 



PALESTINE — MOUNTAINS OF JUDEA, ETC. 93 

cient excavated sepulchres. Travellers have given very different 
accounts of their appearance, according to the season at which they 
visited them, and, probably, their temporary feelings at the time. 
Dr. Olin, a recent visitor, thinks the region visible from the top of 
Gerizim the most populous and fruitful in Palestine. Dr. Robinson 
thought " both equally naked and sterile, although some travellers 
have chosen to describe Gerizim as fertile, and confine the sterility 
to Ebal. The only exception in favour of the former being a small 
ravine, which, indeed, is full of fountains and trees ) in other respects 
both mountains, as here seen, are desolate, except that a few olive 
trees are scattered upon them." This vegetation was probably in 
the " fertile and well-watered ravine, with fine fields and some gardens 
and orchards on each side," with a a copious fountain and aqueduct," 
which Dr. Wilson passed up when visiting the summit. There are 
some patches of culture on Gerizim, but it is mostly devoted to 
pasture. 

Mountains of Ephraim. 

The mountains of Ephraim lie still farther to the south, and form 
an extensive group of moderate elevation, distinguished from the 
mountains of Judea by their greater capability of cultivation. In 
the time of Joshua this region is mentioned as a wood \ " but the 
mountain shall be thine, for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it 
down." * At present, though the valleys are partially cultivated, 
the district is chiefly used for pasture, which it yields abundantly. 
These blend into the 

Mountains of Judea, 

which really form a portion of the great central table-land. To the 
north is the ancient territory of Benjamin ; the appearance of which 
is barren and desolate in the extreme. It is described by Dr. Rob- 
inson as made up of a succession of deep rugged valleys, with broad 
ridges of uneven table-land between, often broken, and sometimes 
rising into high points. The whole district is a mass of limestone 
rock, which everywhere juts out above the surface, and imparts to 
the whole land an aspect of sterility and barrenness. Yet wherever 
soil is found among the rocks, it is strong and fertile ; fields of grain 
are seen occasionally, and fig trees and olive trees are planted every- 
where among the hills. Lower down the slope, towards the Jordan 
valley, all is a frightful desert. In fact, the barrenness of this 
region, which has struck all travellers, seems to havo arisen from 
the neglect of the peculiar mode of cultivation for which the soil is 
fitted. " The hills are generally separated from each other by val- 
leys and torrents, and are for the most part of moderate height, 

* Joshua, xvii. 18. 



94 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

-uneven, and seldom of any regular figure. The rock of which they 
are composed is easily converted into mould, which, being arrested 
by terraces when washed down by the rains, renders the hills cul- 
tivable in a series of long narrow gardens, formed by these terraces 
from the base upwards. Thus the hills were clad in former times 
abundantly, and enriched and beautified with the fig tree, the olive, 
and the vine, and it is in this that the limited cultivation which 
survives is still carried on. But when the inhabitants were thinned 
out, and cultivation abandoned, the terraces fell into decay, and the 
soil which had collected on them was washed down into the valleys, 
leaving only the arid rock bare and desolate. This is the general 
character of the hills of Judea; but in some parts they are beauti- 
fully wooded, and in others the application of the ancient mode of 
culture suggests to the traveller how productive the country once 
was, and how fair the aspect which' it offered." * 

Wilderness of Judea. 

The district to the east of Jerusalem, on the road to Jericho, 
known as the wilderness of Judea, is peculiarly wild and dismal. 
The desolation of this region has been often dwelt upon by trav- 
ellers. " The road," says Dr. Olin, "runs along the edge of steep 
precipices and yawning gulfs, and is in a few places overhung with 
crags of the mountain. The aspect of the whole . region is pecu- 
liarly savage and dreary, vying in these respects, though not in 
overpowering grandeur, with the wilds of Sinai. The mountains 
seem to have been loosened from their foundations and rent in 
pieces by some terrible convulsion, and there left to be scathed by 
the burning rays of the sun, which scorches the land with consuming 
heat." f 

QUARANTANIA. 

In the northern part of this desolate tract, and fronting the wide 
plain of Jericho, lies the mountain of Quarantania, the supposed 
scene of our Lord's temptation. It received this name in the middle 
ages from the forty days' fast, after " Jesus was led up of the spirit 
into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." J It forms }the 
crowning heights of these dismal solitudes; and though its exact 
elevation has not been ascertained, Dr. Robinson describes it as 
rising precipitously, an almost perpendicular wall of rock twelve or 
fifteen hundred feet above the plain, crowned with a chapel on its 
highest point. The eastern front is full of grots and caverns, where 
hermits are said once to have dwelt in great numbers. This is sup- 
posed to have been that exceeding high mountain mentioned in the 

* Kitto, Encyclop. Bib. Lit. art. Palestine, 
f Olin, Travels, &c. J Matthew, iv. 1. 



PALESTINE — WILDERNESS OP TEKOA, ETC. 95 

gospel, from which Satan showed our Lord " all the kingdoms of the 
world and the glory of them/' Its position, overlooking the fertile 
and, when cultivated, beautiful plain of Jericho, with its stream 
and that of the fountain of Elisha, has been thus described by 
Milton : — 

It was a mountain, at whose verdant feet 

A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide 

Lay pleasant ; from his side two rivers flowed, 

The one winding, the other straight ; and left between 

Fair champaign with less rivers interveined, 

Then meeting, joined their tribute to the sea; 

Fertile of corn, the glebe, of oil, and wine ; 

With herds the pasture thronged, with flocks the hills, 

Huge cities and high towered, that well might seem 

The seats of mightiest monarchs ; and so large 

The prospect was, that here and there was room 

For barren desert, fountainless and dry.* 

Mountains of Judah. 

In the neighbourhood of Jerusalem there is a perfect chaos of 
mountains, which will receive a more particular notice in the 
description of that city. To the south of it runs the gradually 
declining ridge called the mountains of Judah, which blend with the 
Idumsean plain. We find here no remarkable points, but it is 
described as a fertile undulating tract, abounding with vineyards, 
which produce the best grapes in Palestine, and olive gardens. 
There is, for the climate, abundant water, and consequently abun- 
dant pasture and fruitful fields, forming a delighful entrance to the 
promised land to one advancing from the Arabian desert. A little 
to the north of Hebron is a well-cultivated valley, running eastward, 
which, apparently with good reason, is generally assumed to be 
Eschol, whence the spies brought back the cluster of grapes to 
Kadesh. " The character of the fruit still corresponds to its ancient 
celebrity, and pomegranates and figs, as well as apricots, quinces, 
and the like, still grow there in abundance/' f It is this district 
which, in the New Testament, is called " the hill country of Judea," 
to distinguish it from the plain stretching between it and the sea. 

Wilderness of Tekoa, &c. 

To the eastern part of the same table-land, which here becomes 
barren, is the wilderness of Tekoa, and still farther towards the 
Dead Sea, the deserts of Engedi and Ziph. The Frank Mountain 
is also contained in the same district. The elevated plain to the 
south of Hebron, estimated at 1,500 feet above the sea level, pro- 
duces luxuriant corn crops, and here the traveller finds himself 

* Par. Reg. lib. v. -j- Robinson. 



90 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

surrounded by the towns of the mountains of Judah, still bearing, 
with slight variations, their ancient names. " Maon, Carmel, and 
Ziph, and Juttah," Jattir Socoh, Anab, and Eshtemoa, " and Kir- 
jath-Arba, which is Hebron."* On descending from this plain to 
the Dead Sea, we pass through the wilderness of Engedi, where David 
and his men lived "among the rocks of the wild goats," and in the 
caverns with which this region abounds. Further down the slope to 
the Dead Sea, the heat increases, and the country begins to assume 
more the appearance of a desert; the surface is everywhere com- 
posed of limestone formation, but the rocks contain a large mixture 
of chalk and flint alternating with the limestone of the region above ; 
all around are naked conical hills, and also ridges from 200 to 400 
feet high, running down mostly towards the sea. At first, the hills 
as well as the valleys appear sprinkled with shrubs, but farther down 
these disappear from the hills, and only a dry stunted grass remains 
upon them. Towards the south the high table-land of Judea sinks 
down to the level of the Arabah, by two sudden plunges of nearly 
1,000 feet each. Instead, however, of tracing the descent, let us 
consider the appearance it would present to travellers coming from 
the south in the direction in which the Israelites advanced on their 
first attempt at an entrance into the promised land. We shall here 
again use the language of a writer to whom the biblical student is 
so much indebted. After mentioning the three passes which lead up 
a naked limestone ridge not less than 1,000 feet in height, and 
very steep, which from Deut. i. 20, we conclude was called " the 
mountain of the Ammonites," — that of el- Yemen on the west, 
es-Sufey on the east, and es-Sufah in the middle, Dr. Robinson thus 
describes the last, that by which he ascended : — 

"We reached the bottom of the pass at 6h. 40m., and began 
immediately to ascend. The way leads up for a short time gradually, 
along the edge of a precipitous ravine on the right, and then comes 
all at once upon the naked surface of the rock, the strata of which 
lie here at an oblique angle as steep as a man can readily climb. 
The path, if so it can be called, continues for the rest of the ascent 
along this bare rock, in a very winding course. The camels made 
their way with difficulty, being at every moment liable to slip. The 
rock, indeed, is in general porous and rough, but yet in many spots 
smooth and dangerous for animals. In such places a path has been 
hewn in the rock in former days, the slant of the rock being some- 
times levelled, and sometimes overcome by steps cut in it. The 
vestiges of this road are more frequent near the top. The appear- 
ance is that of a very ancient pass. The whole mountain side pre- 
sents itself as a vast inclined plane of rock, in which, at intervals, 
narrow tracts of the strata run up at a steeper angle, and break out 

* Joshua, xv. 



PALESTINE — EASTERN MOUNTAINS, ETC. 97 

towards the upper part in low projections; while in other places 
they seem to have been thrown up in fantastic shapes by some con- 
vulsion of nature." * 

The name of this pass, es-Sufah (a rock), is in form identical with 
the Hebrew Zephath, called also Horinah, which we know was the 
point where the Israelites attempted to ascend the mount, so as to 
enter Palestine from Kadesh, but were driven back. A city stood 
there in ancient times, one of the " uttermost cities of Judah towards 
the coast of Edom southward," which was afterwards assigned to the 
tribe of Simeon. There is, therefore, every reason to suppose that 
in the name of es-Siifah we have a reminiscence of the ancient pass 
which must have existed here, and bore the name of the adjacent 
city, Zephath. Of the name Hormah no trace remains. 

Eastern Mountains. 

Our knowledge of the district east of the Jordan is much less satis- 
factory than that of Canaan Proper. It has been, up to the present 
time, visited by very few scientific travellers, and the levels are re- 
duced more from surmise and comparison than from calculation and 
direct measurement. We shall limit our remarks at present to the 
general contour of the country, and collect the more particular notices 
of it which we find in the writings of travellers when speaking of the 
possessions of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. Returning to Mount 
Horeb and its offsets, we find the ridge of Jebel Heish running 
southward, on the eastern side of Lake Huleh. This continues at an 
average height of about 2,000 feet, until it blends into the table-land 
which extends between the valley of the Jordan and the Syrian 
desert. The eastern mountains are, near the valley, at first less lofty 
and precipitous than the western, but rise further back in the moun- 
tains of Gilead into ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 feet in height. The 
elevation of this plateau, from a comparison with that on the oppo- 
site side of the valley, may be assumed at nearly 3,000 feet above 
the depressed region between. 

Abarim. 

At the southern termination of this ridge, N.E. of the Dead Sea, 
lie the mountains of Abarim, which again stretch onward in those of 
Moab and Edom. In the mountains of Abarim the traveller would 
naturally look for il the mountain of Nebo and the top of Pisgah 
that is over against Jericho,"f to which Moses, the servant of the 
Lord, ascended, by Divine command, to view the land he was forbid- 
den to enter, and to die. Dr. Robinson makes the following remarks 
upon its probable position : — " We were much interested in looking 
out among the eastern mountains for Mount Nebo, but our search 

* Robinson, vol. ii. t Deut. xxxiv. 1. 

9 



9$ SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

was in vain. Although we passed in such a direction as to see the 
mountains over against Jericho from every quarter, yet there seems 
to be none standing so out from the rest, or so marked, as to be 
recognised as the Nebo of the Scriptures. There is no peak or point 
perceptibly higher than the rest, but all is apparently one level line 
of summits without peaks or gaps. The highest point in all the east- 
ern mountains is Jebel el-Jil'ad, or es-Salt, near the city of that 
name, rising about 3,000 feet above the Ghor; but this is much too 
far north to be the Mount Nebo to which Moses ascended from the 
plains of Moab over against Jericho. Possibly, on travelling into 
these mountains, some isolated point or summit might be found an- 
swering to the position and character of Nebo. Indeed, Seetzen, 
Burckhardt, and also Irby and Mangles, have all found Mount Nebo 
in Jebel Attarus, a high mountain south of the Zurka Ma'in. This, 
however, as the latter travellers remark, is ' far from opposite Jeri- 
cho/ and would be almost as distant and as little convenient to the 
plains of Moab as is Jebel es-Salt. It may perhaps be sufficient to 
assume that Moses merely went up from these plains to some high 
part of the adjacent mountains, from which he would everywhere 
have an extensive view over the Jordan valley and the mountainous 
tract of Judah and Ephraim, towards the western sea. The Medi- 
terranean itself could never well be visible from any point eas-t of 
the Jordan."* 

SECTION III. 

Plains. 

The western plain, lying along the sea-coast, is of very variable 
extent in width, and broken by spurs from the table-land above it 
into portions which have received distinctive names. Beginning at 
the north, after passing the broken country at the foot of Lebanon, 
we first meet with the 

Phcenicia Plain. 

This extends along the shore from about three miles north of 
Sidon to the point el-Beyad, or the White Promontory, a distance 
of about twenty-four miles. Its breadth is unequal, but it is nowhere 
more than a mile, except around the cities of Tyre and Sidon, where 
the mountains retreat somewhat further. In some places they approach 
quite near to the shore. The surface is not a dead level, but undu- 
lating; the soil is fine and fertile, and everywhere capable of tillage, 
though now suffered for the most part to run to waste. The adjacent 
heights can hardly be called mountains ; they constitute, indeed, the 
high tract running off south from Lebanon ; they are occasionally- 
wooded and enlivened by villages, while the plain itself seems com- 

* Travels, ii. 306, 



PALESTINE — PLAIN OF ACRE, JEZREEL. 99 

pletely uninhabited. The White Promontory is a sublime and pic- 
turesque mountain, composed of calcareous stone as white as chalk. 
Next comes the 

Plain of Acre or Akka. 

This is of comparatively small extent, being about fifteen miles in 
length from north to south, and having an average breadth of five 
miles. It lies between the White Promontory on the north and 
Carmel on the south, while to the east it is skirted by wooded hills. 
The whole plain must anciently have been very fertile, from the 
nature of the soil and the brooks which cross it; but it is now much 
neglected, except in the vicinity of the villages and near the town 
of Acre. Next comes the wide plain of 

ESDRAELON OR JEZREEL. 

This is by far the most celebrated and extensive plain in the whole 
extent of Palestine. It lies inland from Mount Carmel, about the 
upper branches of the Kishon. The principal plain, according to 
Dr. Robinson, is of a triangular shape, the base extending in a line 
north and south from the mountains of Nazareth to Janin, while the 
vertex is the narrow opening through which the Kishon passes out 
to the plain of Acre. To the east of this triangle, which is every- 
where a level tract of fertile soil, yielding grain, millet, cotton, and 
flax, but having no trees visible, the plain sends, inland towards the 
Jordan, three large branches or valleys, separated by the ridges of 
Gilboa and Little Hermon. The branch to the south of Gilboa runs 
south-east, with a perceptible incline upwards as it proceeds. The 
next is the deep plain or valley of Jezreel, which runs in an E.S.E. 
course, sloping down eastwards and carrying the drainage of Little 
Hermon and Gilboa to the deep Jordan valley in the stream Beisan. 
The third great branch, which is more distinctly marked than the 
others, from the mountains which border it rising higher and more 
abruptly, runs north-east to Mount Tabor. To the north, inclosed 
within the mountains of Nazareth, is another beautiful plain called 
el-Buttauf, running from east to west, and sending out a stream to 
join the Kishon. Dr. Wilson supposes that the whole plain of 
Esdraelon " has been at one time a lake, bounded by the hills of 
Samaria and Galilee, till it was drained by the Kishon. " If this 
were so, its outflowing must have been by the Beisan, through the 
central branch to the Jordan, anji this does not seem at all probable. 

The present name of this plain is Merj Ibn Amir. In sacred his- 
tory it is frequently mentioned under the titles of Valley of Megiddo 
and Valley of Jezreel, Josephus speaks of it as the Great Plain. 
Through the whole course of history it has been the scene of the 
great battles of Palestine, and we shall close our notice of it with a 



100 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

brief summary of the actions of which it was the theatre in the elo- 
quent words of Dr. Robinson : — 

" We took leave of this noble plain from the summit of Mount 
Tabor, as it lay extended before us, quiet and peaceful in the brilliant 
light of an oriental morning, so tranquil, indeed, that it was difficult 
to connect with it the idea of battles and bloodshed, of which for a 
long succession of ages it has been the chosen scene. Here Deborah 
and Barak, descending with their forces from Mount Tabor, attacked 
and discomfited the host of Sisera with his ' nine hundred chariots 
of iron' from Endor to Taanach and Megiddo, where the Kishon 
swept them away. In and adjacent to the plain, Gideon achieved his 
triumph over the Midianites ; and here, too, the glory of Israel was 
darkened for a time by the fall of Saul and Jonathan upon Gilboa. 
It was also adjacent to Aphek, in the plain, that Ahab and the 
Israelites obtained a miraculous victory over the Syrians under Ben- 
hadad ; while at Megiddo, the pious Josiah fell in battle against the 
Egyptian monarch. Then came the times of the Bomans with bat- 
tles under G-abinius and Vespasian. The period of the crusades 
furnishes likewise its account of contests in and around the plain ; 
and almost in our day the battle of Mount Tabor was one of the tri- 
umphs of Napoleon. From Mount Tabor the view took in also on 
the one side the region of Hattin where the renown of the crusaders 
sunk before the star of Saladin ; while, not far distant, on the other 
side, the name of Akka or Ptolemais recalls many a deadly struggle 
of the same epoch. There, too, Napoleon was baffled and driven 
back from Syria, and in our own day torrents of blood have flowed 
within and around its walls during the long siege and subsequent 
capture of the city by the Egyptian army in a.d. 1832."* 

Plain of Sharon. 

Bordering Esdraelon on the south is the plain of Sharon. This 
extensive plain stretches along the Mediterranean to the south of 
Carmel, and may be considered as extending to the southern extre- 
mity of the kingdom, since the adjacent plain of Sephela, which 
commences below Bamleh, is not separated from it by any distinct bar- 
rier. It is bordered to the east by the mountains of Ephraim and Judah, 
which lie considerably inland. The prevailing rock is tertiary sand- 
stone, from which it would appear to have been more recently 
recovered from the sea than the chalky hills further inland. It 
affords at present abundant and excellent pasture : this is alluded to 
in Isaiah, when he says, " and Sharon shall be a fold of flocks." f 
Though the soil is light and loose it has a considerable covering of 
vegetable mould, and seems exceedingly well adapted for crops of 

* Robinson, iii. 233. f Isaiah, lxv. 10. 



PALESTINE — PLAIN OF JUDAH. 101 

grain. There is abundant timber, principally deciduous oak, and 
the gardens wherever cultivated are beautiful and luxuriant. 

Monro, who visited this plain in spring, describes it as " the rich 
pasture land of the valley of Sharon, clothed with verdure as far as 
the eye can reach. The white clover springs spontaneously, and 
among a variety of shrubs and flowers were a few dwarf tulips. I 
observed nothing bearing the appearance of what we call a rose, and 
unless 'the rose of Sharon' is the Cestus roseus of Linnseus, which 
grows abundantly, I know not what it may be. This tract, glorious 
as it is to the eye, is yet deficient of water in its central part, and 
for this reason appears not to be frequented even by the Arabs. The 
grass and flowers spring to waste their sweetness and to fall unseen ; 
and the storks striding to and fro are the only animals by which 
they are visited. The soil is light and the surface elastic ; and the 
uneven foreground swells into hills to the east, which are backed by 
the mountains of Samaria beyond." When Buckingham passed it 
in winter it appeared a desert, which can be easily accounted for by 
the deficiency of water, noted by Monro, and which is destructive of 
any permanent vegetation when moisture is not artificially supplied 
by irrigation. These observations of travellers show how fitted by 
nature Sharon is for " the excellency " which is celebrated by the 
prophet. 

Plain op Judah. 

To the south the plain between the mountains of Judea and the 
sea was sometimes called the plain of Judah in order to distinguish 
it from "the hill country of Judea." Through the whole of this, 
southward to El Arish, no perennial stream crosses the plain, which 
is undulating, and exhibits great variety in fertility and appearance. 
At Jaffa are fine gardens producing pomegranates, oranges, fig-trees, 
and water-melons, and enclosed by- hedges of prickly pear : these 
extend for some distance. Beyond this the proportion of cultivated 
soil rapidly diminishes, but rich pastures are found round Ashdod. 
The country is bare of trees, but in spring presents a luxuriant and 
beautiful appearance, enamelled with flowers, amongst which our 
garden pink takes the place of the daisy. Further south around 
Gaza are an abundance of sycamore-trees and plantations of old 
olive-trees, and beyond this as far as Rafah the country is beautiful. 
Ali Bey says, " All the country of Palestine which I saw from Khan 
Younes to Jaffa is beautiful ; it is composed of undulating hills of 
a rich soil, similar to that of the Nile, and is covered with the richest 
and finest vegetation. But there is not a single river in all the dis- 
trict; there is not even a spring. All the torrents I crossed were 
dry [in July], and the inhabitants have no other water to drink than 
that which they collect in the rainy seasons, nor any other means of 
irrigation than rain water and that of the wells, which indeed is 
9* 



102 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

very good. From Rafah southward the desert gradually encroaches 
on vegetation till we come to the barren tracts of shifting sand which 
separate this country from Egypt." 

Region of Depression, " El Ghor," or the Jordan Valley. 

Under this title is comprehended the whole of that wide and 
deep valley which extends from Lake Huleh to the south of the 
Dead Sea, including both it and the sea of Tiberias; the distance 
between these two lakes is about sixty miles in a straight line, and 
through this intervening space the Jordan flows. The plain varies 
in width from five to ten miles, extending in the plain of Jericho to 
eleven or twelve, but narrowing again at the head of the Dead Sea. 
It is bordered on both sides by the abrupt declivities of the table- 
lands above, which form in many places precipitous cliffs, but are 
generally more sudden and lofty on the west than on the eastern 
side. The amount of depression is not uniform, but on a gradual 
increase towards the south, until, in the basin of the Dead Sea, it 
reaches the enormous depth of 1,312 feet below the sea, being 3,500 
feet below the level of Jerusalem. It exhibits through its whole 
length two shelves of considerable breadth along the sides, while a 
lower bed, and sometimes a third, runs between and forms the low 
banks of the Jordan. The greater portion of this great valley 
between the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea is a solitary desert. 
Josephus and Jerome concur in their descriptions of it with those 
of modern travellers; the former speaks of the Jordan as flowing 
through a desert, and the plain, in summer, is scorched by heat, insa- 
lubrious, and watered by no stream except the Jordan. Indeed, we 
might infer that this was partly so from the time of Abraham, for 
we read in Gen. xiv. 10, "that Lot beheld the plain, that it was 
well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and 
Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, 
as thou comest unto Zoar." The low bed of the river, the absence 
of inundations and tributary streams, cessation of cultivation, and 
want of trees, have all concurred in producing this result. " The 
elevated plain/' says Lynch, "was at first (coming from Tiberias) 
covered with fields of grain, but became more barren as they jour 7 
neyed southward. The terrace was strongly marked, particularly in 
.the southern portion, where there was a continuous range of perpen- 
dicular cliffs of limestone and conglomerate. This terrace averaged 
about 500 feet above the flat of the Jordan, which was mostly cov- 
ered with trees and grass/' " In the lower portion it was every- 
where shaped by the action of the winter rains into a number of 
conical hills, some of them pyramidal and cuneiform, presenting the 
appearance of a great encampment, so perfectly tent-like were their 
shapes. This singular configuration extends southwards as far as 
the eye can reach/' 



PALESTINE — THE JORDAN VALLEY. 103 

Near the ford, five or six miles above Jericho, the plain is 
described as " generally unfertile, the soil being in many places 
encrusted with salt, and having small heaps of a white powder, like 
sulphur, scattered at short intervals over its surface." Here, too, 
the bottom of the lower valley is generally barren. In the northern 
part of Grhor, according to Burckhart, " the great number of rivulets 
which descend from the mountains on both sides, and form numer- 
ous pools of stagnant water, produce in many places a pleasing 
verdure, and a luxuriant growth of wild herbage and grass; but the 
greater part of the ground is a parched desert, of which a few spots 
only are cultivated by the Bedawin. So too in the southern part, 
wherever similar rivulets or fountains exist, as around Jericho, there 
is an exuberant fertility; but these seldom reach the Jordan, and 
have no effect upon the middle of the Grhor. ' Nor are the moun- 
tains upon each side less rugged and desolate than they have been 
described along the Dead Sea. The western cliffs overhang the 
valley at an elevation of 1,000 or 1,200 feet; while the eastern 
mountains are indeed at first less lofty and precipitous, but rise 
further back into ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 feet in height." * 

The southern part of this valley, where it spreads out to a breadth 
of between eleven and twelve miles, forms the celebrated plain of 
Jericho, in which was situated "the city of palm trees," the first 
conquest of the Israelites in the land of Canaan. Here the deep 
depression below the sea-level produces the effects of a more south- 
ern latitude in the intensity of heat and the character of its vege- 
tation. It is still partially cultivated ; but the greater portion has 
been allowed to bake into a desert under the parching heat of a 
tropical sun, unrelieved by irrigation. At different periods in history 
this plain, under the careful hand of cultivation, has exhibited the 
most luxuriant vegetation. Josephus calls it " a divine region." 

Under the Saracen dominion it seems again to have been restored 
to fertility and thickly populated : remains of their architecture are 
scattered over it. Now it lies almost a desert, with a wretched and 
filthy village, in which the loose walls of the hovels are formed of 
the hewn stones of ancient buildings; the few gardens around it 
contain nothing but tobacco and cucumbers, and a single solitary 
palm is the only memorial of the groves which once gave the city a 
name. Yet the soil is rich and naturally fertile, and susceptible of 
easy tillage and abundant irrigation, with a climate to produce any- 
thing. A copious fountain called El Duk, supposed to be the 
ancient fountain of Elisha, pours forth a noble stream, which is 
scattered in rivulets over a wide extent, a portion of it being carried 
further north by an aqueduct, to diffuse the fertilizing element over 
a larger area of the plain. " By these abundant waters fertility and 

* Robinson, ii. 265. 



104 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

verdure are spread over the plain almost as far as the eye can reach, 
extending for an hour or more below the fountain. But alas ! 
almost the whole of this verdure at the present day, consists only of 
thorny shrubs or trees of the thorny Nubk. It is a remarkable 
instance of the lavish bounty of nature contrasted with the indo- 
lence of man. Where the water does not flow, the plain produces 
nothing," 

The climate of Jericho is excessively hot; a fact in no way sur- 
prising when we consider that it is 3,500 feet below the level of 
Jerusalem, and after a few months it becomes an unhealthy resi- 
dence for strangers. 

SECTION IV. 

Rivers. 

The greater number of the rivers of Palestine which have attained 
a celebrity by their names being mentioned in the sacred writings, 
owe their importance, like the classic streams of Greece, wholly to 
the circumstances with which they are associated. They are mere 
mountain torrents which, swollen in the rainy period, present in the 
summer dry and rugged channels, or at most shallow insignificant 
streams, which when they issue from springs are, in the season of 
drought, dried up and disappear at a short distance from their sources. 

The Jordan. 

The principal river of the district, and that which almost alone is 
entitled to the denomination, is the Jordan. We have above inci- 
dentally remarked, that its sources lie in the southern branches of 
Anti-Lebanon. The Lake Huleh forms the reservoir into which the 
waters are collected before issuing forth in a single broad and deep 
current. The two large streams which enter this lake bring down 
considerable volumes of water from the mountains; but though the 
western stream, at present called the Hasbeiya, is the most important 
tributary to the lake, being seven yards wide and about two feet 
deep, it never has received the name of Jordan, that title having at 
all times been confined to the eastern and smaller stream. Josephus, 
and indeed all antiquity, place the sources of this river at Paneas, 
the present Baneas, where a stream issues from a spacious cavern 
under a wall of rock at the base of the Heish mountain. The place 
is identified as the ancient Panium of Josephus, by the remains of a 
temple erected by Herod the Great in honour of Augustus, and by 
an inscription manifestly by a priest of Pan ; whose worship was 
celebrated at the place and gave it its name. There are in the face 
of the perpendicular rock directly over the cavern, and in other 
places, several niches cut apparently to receive statues. From this 
fountain the stream flows off on the north and west of the village of 



PALESTINE — THE JORDAN. 105 

Banias, and joins another rivulet at the distance of about three miles 
in the plain below. 

Josephus in another place assigns to it a more remote origin, and 
tells a story of Philip the tetrarch having cast some chaff into a lake, 
called Phiala from its round shape, and its having floated by a sub- 
terranean passage into the fountain at Panium, from which he would 
conclude that this more distant lake was its true source. A lake 
which answers to the description and the locality here mentioned 
was visited by Irby and Mangles, and from it issued a small stream 
which may in the wet season yield some supply to the Jordan ; but 
as the bed of the stream is below the level of the lake, the story of 
the chaff and subterranean passage appears a fiction. We may 
therefore consider Banias as the most eastern source of this river. 

Following up for about a mile and a half the stream, which joins 
in the plain that from Banias, which the present inhabitants consider 
the true Jordan, we arrive at "a circular basin about one hundred 
yards wide, in the bottom of which great quantities of water were 
rising and boiling up, and a considerable quantity of fresh-water 
tortoises were disporting themselves. It formed by far the most 
copious stream which we had yet seen in the country. Two large 
streams of the purest water emerge from it, which after forming a 
little island immediately unite into a rapid river ten yards wide and 
two feet deep, having a very quick descent through a luxuriant grove 
of oleanders, briars, and wild figs, and poplar, pistacia and mulberry 
trees. The bank of this river was higher on the eastern side."* 
This is the other source of the Jordan mentioned by Josephus, and 
lies at the western side of the Tell, or hill, El .Kady, which is de- 
scribed as a small conical hill with a fiat space upon the top, and 
apparently of volcanic formation. That this is the place which Jo- 
sephus describes as the other source of the Jordan, is manifest from 
the passage where he speaks of i( the place called Daphne, which 
has fountains supplying the lesser Jordan under the fountain of the 
Golden Calf, and sent into the great Jordan/'' The latter expression 
seems to apply to the eastern and, of the two, longer stream from 
Banias. The position of the Tell corresponds exactly with the an- 
cient account, being about four miles west of Banias, and on its 
summit the ancient city of Dan, or Laish, where the golden calf was 
set up for idolatrous worship, is supposed to have stood. Dr. Wilson 
remarks the coincidence between Kady, " a judge," and Dan, which 
has the same meaning in Hebrew. He was shown a grove near it, 
which one of the natives told him was called Ed Difnah, which may 
be the Daphne of Josephus, a word which commentators have 
hitherto considered a misprint for Dane. 

Here then at Banias and Tell el Kady, we have the two sources 

* Wilson. 



106 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

of the Jordan. Leaving Lake Huleh, the river flows through " the 
long plain/' Sahil et Suleh, which runs in an E.N.E. direction for 
about thirteen miles between that lake and Tiberias. u The plain 
is of excellent soil, a deep black mould, formed from the debris of 
basaltic rocks. It is partly under cultivation and partly lying waste, 
and covered in June with a luxuriant crop of thistles, yellow, blue, 
and violet. 

At Jacob's Bridge, which crosses it in this part of its course, on 
the road to Damascus, the bed of the river is thirty-four yards wide, 
and unequal in depth, varying from two to six or seven feet; u but 
at this season of the year (June)/' says Dr. Wilson, whose 
account we give, li we observed little appearance of a ford to give 
rise to the imagination that Jacob passed the Jordan at this place 
on his way from Padan-aram." The stream is rather rapid, and 
it seems plentifully stocked with fishes. According to Schubert, 
the bed is at this point ninety feet above the level of the sea. Nu- 
merous reeds, rushes, canes, thorns, oleanders, and other plants line 
its banks, above and below the bridge. The papyrus is also seen 
here, as it is on the banks of some of the rivers running into the 
Mediterranean on the western coast. 

Just at its entrance into the Lake, of Tiberias, the river runs near 
the western hills, which are steep but not high. Its estuary into 
the lake presents a singular appearance. • The strong southerly winds 
which are prevalent have driven up a bank of sand before its mouth, 
which now rises above the water, and being connected with the 
eastern shore of the lake, extends out for fifteen or twenty rods to 
the south-west, forming a channel for the river for some distance 
along the shore on that side. The course of the river through the 
Lake of Tiberias, as in the case of the Rhone through the Lake of 
Geneva, is marked by a smooth belt of water, and it is said to pass 
through without mingling with the lake. It issues from it at its 
south-west corner, near the ruins of Kerak, the ancient Tarichgea, 
mentioned by Josephus. The elevation of the banks of the lake at 
this place varies from ten to forty feet, but they are not precipitous, 
and a path may be found at the brink of the water. The margin of 
the Jordan itself at the west side is level for about twenty yards, 
with many beautiful oleanders intermixed with high reeds and 
rushes. This vegetation continues more or less along the banks. 
The water is as clear as crystal. Its width is here estimated by 
Dr. Wilson at thirty feet, and it is about six feet deep in the middle 
of the channel. 

At about an hour from the lake, Lynch says, " the average breadth 
is about seventy-five feet; the banks rounded, and about thirty feet 
high, luxuriantly clothed with grass and flowers. The scarlet ane- 
mone, the yellow marigold, and occasionally a water lily, and here 
rvnd there a struggling asphodel close to the water's edge, but not a 



PALESTINE — THE JORDAN. 107 

tree or a shrub. The depth is ten feet." It winds very much, and 
at first flows generally near the western hills, then turns to the east, 
on which it continues for some distance below Beisan,, when it re- 
turns to the western side of the great valley. Lower down it keeps 
more in the centre ; but opposite Jericho, and towards the Dead Sea., 
it leaves a wide plain on its western bank. The upper or outer 
banks are, at the lower part of the stream, not more than a hundred 
rods apart, with a descent of fifty or sixty feet to the level of the 
lower valley in which the river flows. There is here no sign of 
vegetation along the upper banks, and little, if any, in the valley 
below, except a narrow strip of canes here occupying a still lower 
track along the brink of the channel at each side. With these are 
intermingled tamarisks, and a species of willow from which pilgrims 
usually carry away branches for staves, after dipping them in the 
Jordan. This strip of vegetation is itself skirted by offsets or banks, 
five or six feet high. So that here the river might strictly be said 
to have three sets of banks, the upper or outer ones forming the first 
descent from the level of the great valley ; the lower or middle ones 
enclosing the tract of canes and other vegetation, and the actual 
banks of the channel. Further up the river, as we have seen, the 
lower tract disappears, and the stream flows between the middle or 
second banks, wnich are covered with trees and bushes, and are of 
variable width, and about 40 feet below the rest of the Grhor. 

" The channel of the river varies in different places, being in some 
wider and more shallow, and in others narrower and deeper. At 
the ford, near Beisan, on the 12th of March, Irby and Mangles 
found the breadth to be one hundred and forty feet by measure, the 
stream was swift and reached above the bellies of the horses. When 
Burckhardt passed there in July it was about three feet deep. On 
the return of the former travellers, twelve days later (March 25), 
they found the river at a lower ford extremely rapid and were ob- 
liged to swim their horses. On the 29th of January, in the same 
year, as Mr. Banks crossed at or near the same lower ford, the 
stream is described as flowing rapidly over a bed of pebbles, but 
as easily fordable for the horses. Near the convent of St. John, the 
stream, at the annual visit of the pilgrims at Easter, is sometimes 
said to be narrow and flowing six feet below the banks of its channel. 
At the Greek bathing-place lower down it is described in 1815, on 
the 3rd of May, as rather more than fifty feet wide and five feet deep, 
running with a violent current ; in some other parts it was very 
deep. In 1835, on the 23rd of April, my companion was standing 
upon the banks higher up, nearly opposite Jericho, and found the 
water considerably below them. The lower tract of cane-brake did 
not exist in that part."* 

* Robinson. 



108 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Since this summary of information on the subject was given by 
Dr. Robinson, Lieutenant Lynch has navigated the entire course of 
the river from the Lake of Tiberias to the Dead Sea. The whole 
of his account of the descent is extremely interesting, but the gene- 
ral facts which he has added to our knowledge are, the numerous 
rapids and the great sinuosity of the stream. The boats had to 
plunge down twenty-seven threatening rapids besides a great many 
of lesser magnitude, and several places in which the velocity of the 
stream was ten miles an hour. These numerous rapids are fully 
accounted for by the fact of the great difference in level between Tibe- 
rias and the Dead Sea, a difference exceeding 1,000 feet, which the 
river has to descend in its course between the two. So numerous 
are the windings of the river that, in a space of sixty miles of latitude 
and four or five of longitude, it traverses at least two hundred miles. 
In some of the sharp bends the peninsulas formed have been cut 
away from the bank by the washing of the current and form islands. 
The vast body of water which it discharges into the sea may be esti- 
mated from the fact that though from its being the end of the flood 
the river had fallen several feet, it was found to measure, before 
spreading out into the estuary at its mouth, fifty yards in width and 
eleven feet in depth, with a current of four knots. The river is very 
muddy in its lower course from the soil it washes from its banks, and 
its bed during the whole interval between the lakes is much below 
the sea level. 

It was supposed that the Jordan was subject to inundations in a 
similar manner to the Nile, and that the wide valley now so desolate 
may have thus received an extraordinary fertility. It is now, how- 
ever, admitted that no such extensive overflow takes place at present. 
Writers have endeavoured to account for this fact by the decreased 
rain-fall arising from the destruction of the woods and forests which 
were once so numerous and extensive ; but in reality there is no evi- 
dence that it ever was subject to such extensive inundations, and the 
whole form of its deep banks renders it highly improbable. The 
expression that " Jordan overfloweth all his banks at the time of 
harvest," as it is rendered in our version, means simply, "fills" all 
his banks, an expression quite agreeing with modern observation. 
There occurs after the rains an annual rise of the river which causes 
it to flow at this season with full banks, and sometimes to spread its 
waters over the intermediate banks of its channel where they are 
lowest, so as in some places to fill the low tract or upper basin 
covered with trees and vegetation along its sides. That it did this 
of old is evident from the language of Jeremiah, " behold he shall 
come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habita- 
tion of the strong,"* and the existence of thickets along the banks, 

* Ch. xlix. v. 19. 



PALESTINE — THE JORDAN. 109 

which might serve as covert for wild beasts, is shown by the miracle 
recorded of Elisha, when we are told " when they came to Jordan 
they cut down wood, but as one was felling a beam the axe head fell 
into the waters."* The annual rise which still occurs must vary in 
different years according to the quantity of rain which may fall, and 
takes place towards the close or even after the termination of the 
rainy season, and not when the rains are heaviest. This singular 
delay in the time of flood appears to be satisfactorily accounted for 
by Dr. Robinson. In the first place the parched and thirsty state 
of the chalky soil, after the summer heat, causes a great proportion 
of the earlier rains in November to be absorbed in it and its numer- 
ous caverns, and again the lake of Tiberias acts as a regulator upon 
the supply to the river. The rains which descend upon Anti-Leba- 
non and the mountains around the upper part of the Jordan, and 
which might be expected to produce sudden and violent inundations, 
are received into the basins of the Huleh and Tiberias, and there 
spread out over a broad surface, so that all violence is destroyed, and 
the stream which issues from them can only flow with a regulated 
current varying in depth according to the elevation of the lower lake. 
The same occurs in most rivers which run through or form the out- 
lets of lakes. 

The Lake of Tiberias reaches its highest level at the close of the 
rainy season, and as a necessary consequence the Jordan is then at 
its fullest. It was at this period that the Israelites crossed it on 
their entrance into the land. The passage took place four days 
before the Passover, and the harvest occurs in April and early in 
May, the barley preceding the wheat harvest by two or three weeks. 
Hence the Jordan had filled its banks when, arrested by the arm of 
the Almighty, " the waters which came down from above stood and 
rose up upon a heap very far from the city of Adam that is beside 
Zaretan, and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even 
the salt sea, failed and were cut off: and the people passed over 
right against Jericho. "f We have no means of tracing the place at 
which this miraculous passage took place, as neither the name nor 
situation of Grilgal has been identified. There are several fords by 
which in the dry season the river may be crossed. There is one a 
short distance below its exit from the Sea of Galilee, near the ruins 
of a Roman bridge, and another about two hours further down. In 
fact the river is fordable in many places where it is low, but the few 
spots in which it may be crossed in the swollen season are known 
only to the Arabs. 

We have now traced from its sources in Lebanon to its embou- 
chure into the Dead Sea this river, so singular in its character and 
so glorious in its associations with the miraculous history of the Jews, 

* 2 Kings, vi. 5. f Joshua, iii. 16. 

10 



110 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the preparatory mission of St. John, and the baptism of our Saviour. 
Its tributaries and the few perennial streams which exist in other 
parts of the country require a comparatively brief notice. 

Though from the deep wadys or valleys which cut down through 
the table lands on both sides of the Ghor innumerable rivulets trickle 
down in the rainy season ; they contribute to the Jordan, only two 
permanent brooks, both of which flow from the eastern side. Of 
these, the Yarmuk, the ancient Hieromax, is the most considerable, 
and joins the Jordan seven or eight miles below the Lake of Tibe- 
rias, after winding in a beautiful stream from its source, which is in 
a small lake about thirty miles to the east of the Jordan. It yields 
a considerable body of water. Lieut. Lynch describes its mouth as 
forty yards wide, with a moderate current, and as wide and deep 
nearly as the Jordan. 

Jabbok. 

The brook Jabbok is mentioned in the 32nd chap, of Genesis, as 
that which Jacob crossed on his return homewards. Its modern 
name is the Zerka. It flows into the Jordan, about forty miles 
below the lake of Tiberias, in an east-north-east direction, after a 
course nearly due east from the Hauran mountains, its whole length 
being about sixty-five miles. Its upper course is dry during summer, 
but there is always water, though in scanty quantity, in its lower 
bed, which runs through a deep glen, the steep banks of which are 
overgrown with the Solanum, which attains a considerable size. The 
bare exposed banks were coated with salt in the summer, but this, 
Lynch thinks, was wafted by the southerly winds from the Dead Sea. 
Its waters are limpid, flowing over a stony bed ; there was another 
dry bed showing that in time of freshets there are two outlets inclos- 
ing a small delta. In its passage westward it frequently disappears 
by passing under ground, a phenomenon not singular in countries 
o a similar geological formation. It is mentioned in Joshua xii. as 
" the border of the children of Ammon" separating their territories 
from those of the King of Bashan, and it seems afterwards to have 
formed the division between the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe 
of Manasseh. 

Arnon. 

The river Arnon, which flows into the Dead Sea, is mentioned in 
the same chapter as the southern boundary of the Ammonites, and 
became also, as we have seen, tbe southern limit of the kingdom of 
Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan. This stream also flows from 
the east. Its present name is Wady Mojeb, which was first identi- 
fied with the ancient river by Burckhardt. It rises in the mountains 
of Gilead, whence it pursues a circuitous course of about eighty miles. 
It flows in a rocky bed with a deep and precipitous channel, yet 



RIVERS — THE KISHON. Ill 

along it lies the most frequented road from the south, and that which 
probably was travelled by the Israelites. The stream is almost dried 
up in summer ; but huge masses of rocks, torn from the sides of the 
valley and deposited high above its usual channel, evince its fulness 
and impetuosity in the rainy season. When Dr. Wilson passed it, in 
May, 1843, near its entrance into the sea, it was a rapid stream 
twelve yards wide and two feet deep. The best account of its em- 
bouchure, however, is that of Lieutenant Lynch : — 

" We stopped/ ' he says, u for the night in a beautiful cove on the 
south side of the delta, through which — its own formation — the Arnon 
flows to the sea. The stream, now eighty-two feet wide and four 
deep, runs through a chasm ninety-seven feet wide, formed by high 
perpendicular cliffs of red, brown, and yellow sandstone, mixed red 
and yellow on the southern side, and on the north a soft, rich red, 
all worn by the winter rains into the most fantastic forms, not unlike 
Egyptian architecture. It was difficult to realize that some were not 
the work of art." " The chasm runs up in a direct line for 150 
yards, then turns, with a slow and graceful curve, to the south-east. 
In the deepest part within the chasm the river did not at that time 
exceed four feet in depth ; but after passing through the delta, nar- 
rowing in its course, it is ten feet deep, but quite narrow at the 
mouth. We saw here tracks of camels, and marks of an Arab en- 
campment. There must be some passage down the ravine, the sides 
of which seemed so precipitous. There were castor-beans, tamarisks, 
and canes along the course of the stream from the chasm to the sea. 
Fired a pistol up the chasm ; the report reverberated finely against 
the perpendicular sides. Walked and waded up some distance, and 
found the passage of the same uniform width, turning every 150 or 
200 yards gradually to the south-east. Observed a dead gazelle, 
and saw the tracks of gazelles and of wild beasts, but could only 
identify those of the tiger. The report of a gun, which we fired, 
reverberating like loud and long-continued peals of thunder, startled 
many birds. The highest summits of the inner cliffs north of the 
chasm were yellow limestone."* 

There are only two independent streams which require any notice, 
and of these the Belus, which flows into the sea near Acre, is 
remarkable only as the place where, according to Plin} 7 , glass was 
accidentally discovered. Its modern name is Namaani. . The other, 
the Kishon deserves a more enlarged description. 

River Kishon. 

" That ancient river the river Kishon " enters the bay of Acre at 

its south-eastern corner. It is comparatively small, and perennial 

only in its lower course, so that much difference of opinion has 

existed both as to its sources and volume. It seems now ascertained 

* Lynch, p. 367. 



112 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

that it rises in Mount Tabor, and flows along the plain of Esdra- 
elon, receiving many contributions from the south, though in 
summer the courses of these are dried up, leaving only the empty 
gulleys upon the plain. Several of these dry channels run west- 
ward from both the northern and southern branches of the plain, 
and not improbably in ancient times, when the country was more 
wooded, these may have been permanent streams throughout their 
whole length, like that (the Beisan) which still runs eastward along 
the middle arm of the plain to the Jordan. Even now, in ordinary 
times, during the winter and spring, there is an abundance of water 
in numerous rills flowing westward to form the Kishon, but the 
sources of the permanent stream must be sought for much farther 
down, along the base of Carmel, at not more than seven miles froni 
the mouth. Shaw first noticed this fact, and erroneously supposed 
that these were the only sources, and that the river had no higher 
branches in the plain, which he probably visited in a season of 
drought. "In travelling under the eastern brow of Carmel/' he 
says, "I had an opportunity of seeing the sources of the river 
Kishon, three or four of which lie within less than a furlong of each 
other. These alone, without the lesser contributions nearer the sea, 
discharge water enough to form a river half as big as the Isis." 

It was probably on the banks of the permanent stream that Elijah 
slew the prophets of Baal; indeed, the close proximity of Carmel 
would make this almost a certainty. The quantity of water which 
flows out, though exceedingly variable, is by no means inconsider- 
able. Dr. Wilson, in May 1843, passed it near its entrance into 
the sea, and found it twelve yards wide and two feet deep; but 
Schubert, at the same period of the year, found it forty yards wide 
and three or four feet deep in the direct line between Nazareth and 
Haifa. Monro crossed it near its mouth in a boat, and describes it 
as thirty yards in width, and deep; but this must have been rather 
the estuary than the stream itself. When we consider the character 
of the country, drained by the remote watercourses from the hills, 
we can readily understand how the forces of Sisera were swept away 
by the Kishon, swollen as the stream probably was in all its branches 
by the tempest and rain with which the Lord interfered in behalf 
of the Israelites. In fact, we are not left to conjecture or fancy 
about the matter, for we find that during the battle of Mount Tabor, 
between the French and the Arabs, many of the latter are expressly 
said to have been drowned in the stream coming from Deburiah, 
which then inundated a part of the plain. This historical fact gives 
a conclusive explanation of the words of Deborah and Barak, " The 
stars in their courses fought against Sisera, the river Kishon swept 
them away, that ancient river the river Kishon." * 

* Judges, v. 19-21. 



BROOKS — KIDRON, CHERITH, ETC. 113 



The Brook Kidron or Cedron. 

This is a mere winter torrent which flows occasionally with great 
violence during the rainy season, but is generally a dry wady or water- 
course. The ravine, which at intervals becomes the bed of the 
stream, has a lengthened course, commencing at about a mile to the 
north-east of Jerusalem, and winding down in wildness and desola- 
tion to the Dead Sea. It has received, in modern times, the name 
of the valley of JehoshapJiat. In the upper part the sides are 
steep, and it runs between the village of Siloam and Jerusalem, and 
here is the Fountain of the Virgin, sometimes called the Fountain 
of Siloam ; about mid-way down the pass is the monastery of Mar 
Saba. The missionaries at Jerusalem informed Dr. Robinson that 
they had never seen any water in the bed, though they had resided 
there for several years. Near the sea, which it enters to the south 
of Cape Feshka, it is called the Wady en Nar (ravine of fire). 
Lynch says : — " Between the outlets of the two ravines of Mahras 
and en Nar, the debris of the mountains has formed a plain or delta, 
sloping to the south-east, and rounding again to the southward. At 
1.36 stopped to examine where the Kidron empties into the sea in 
the rainy season. The bed, much worn and filled with confused 
fragments of rock, was perfectly dry. It is a deep gorge, narrow at 
the base and yawning wide at the summit, which was 1,200 feet 
above us." * The other brooks and watercourses of which mention 
is made are the following : — " Waters of Lebanon," " Kanah," 
"Gaash," "Cherith," "Eshcol," "Besor," " Sorek," " River of 
Egypt," " Waters of Nimrim," " Shittim." Of these many are of 
too little importance to require any particular description, we there- 
fore limit our remarks to a few. 

The brook Cherith, by which Elijah was ordered to conceal him- 
self from Ahab (1 Kings xvii. 3), and where he was miraculously 
fed, is supposed -to be the Wady Kelt which flows into the Jordan 
across the plain of Jericho. The expression, " which is before 
Jordan," has led most travellers to search for it on the western side 
of that river; but taking it in the sense of before thou comest to 
Jordan, the position of this winter torrent would be well described 
to a person in Samaria. 

Eshcol, to the brook of which the spies went in their examination 
of the land (Numbers xiii. 24), was the mere drainage of the fertile 
Eshcol valley, to which we have alluded in a former place. 

u Besor " mentioned in 1 Sam. xxx. 9, must, from the connection 
in which it stands, have been in the country of the Philistines, and 
most probably is the winter stream which flows into the Mediter- 
ranean to the south of Gaza. " The Amalekites had invaded the 

* Lynch, p. 283. 

10* 



114 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag and burned it with fire, and 
had taken the women captives that were therein -" and David, after 
inquiring of the Lord, went southward in pursuit, u he and the six 
hundred men that were with him, and came to the brook Besor." 

Lakes. 

All the large lakes in Palestine lie along the course of the river 
Jordan, and may almost be considered as expansions of that stream. 
We shall, therefore, consider them in order, from the source of the 
river southwards. 

Lake Huleh. 

Lake Huleh, the uppermost of these lakes, forms, as we have seen, 
the reservoir of the Jordan, which flows out from it in a full broad 
stream. It is mentioned in Joshua as the " waters of Merom," 
where he smote Jabin, King of Hazor, and the Canaanites with a 
great slaughter. By Josephus it is spoken of as the Lake Samo- 
chonites, and by the inhabitants it is sometimes called el-Khait. It 
lies in the opening between the Heish and Safed Mountains, and the 
whole valley, as well as the lake, is called el-Huleh. Its general 
appearance is well described by Dr. Wilson : — " The great body of 
the lake," he says, u is to the west of the emergence of the Jordan, 
and the Jordan is rather wide at its exit. Indeed, the lake itself at 
this place tapers somewhat to the south, after it has run in a toler- 
ably straight line from the west. There are no considerable banks 
on the south and west of the lake, and but a small rise in the water 
would make it overflow. On the margin of the lake itself, and over 
a good part of its surface throughout, there are a great many sedges, 
rushes, and lotuses. Thousands of aquatic birds are seen gamboling 
on its bosom, and many swallows skimming its surface. Its waters 
have not quite the purity of the lake of Tiberias, as it is fed by 
several muddy streams running through a morass. It would be no 
difficult matter to effect its drainage." " At the north-west corner 
of the lake we found a stream running into it from the north-west, 
but we could not cross it at this place, on account of the marsh lying 
to the north of the lake. This meadow is quite impassable at 
present (i. e. 13th of April) throughout, though it is raised above 
the lake about a couple of feet." * This marsh, formed by the head 
waters of the Jordan as they flow over the level of the Huleh, 
varies considerably in extent with the season of the year ; it is said 
to be the haunt of wild boars and jackals, and wolves are heard of 
about the borders of the lake. As to the extent of the sheet of 
water itself, this writer does not afford any information, though he 
visited it most probably when it was at its highest level. Dr. 

* Wilson, ii. 161. 



LAKE TIBERIAS, OR SEA OF GALILEE. 115 

Robinson estimates the whole area of the lake and marsh at eight 
or ten geographical miles in length from north to south, by four or 
five in breadth. Of this space, the southern half is covered with 
the clear waters of the lake, and the other consists of the marsh 
bounding the tolerably straight line of the waters on the north, and 
having itself apparently a similar regular border. Through this 
great marsh two or three small streams are seen pursuing their way 
towards the lake. They wind exceedingly, and occasionally swell 
out into small ponds. These glitter in the midst of the marsh and 
among the reeds, but do not deserve the name of separate lakes 
though mentioned as such by several travellers. 

Tiberias, or Sea or Galilee. 
This lake, so deeply interesting as the scene of several of our 
Lord's miracles, and associated by so many recollections with his 
teaching and disciples, lies about thirteen miles further down the 
course of the Jordan. It is also called in Scripture the " Sea of 
Galilee" and "Lake of Gennesareth/' the latter being supposed to 
be a corruption of the old name Cinnereth, mentioned in Joshua 
xi. 2, " the plain south of Chinneroth," and in other places in the Old 
Testament. In fact, it is supposed that Cinnereth, Gennesareth, 
and Tiberias were towns on the same site which successively gave a 
name to the adjoining lake. It lies in the depressed valley the 
Ghor, at a depth of 328 feet below the sea, according to the mea- 
surement of Lieut. Symonds. Its greatest length, which is in a 
direction from north to south, is about twelve geographical miles, 
and its breadth six. It presents the appearance of a beautiful sheet 
of limpid water in a deep basin, from which the shores rise in general 
steeply and continuously all round, except where a ravine occasion- 
ally interrupts them. They are more broken and picturesque at the 
entrance and emergence of the Jordan, but in general are rounded 
and tame. They are decked by no shrubs or forests, and in the later 
season of the year looked naked and dreary from the absence of grass 
and herbage; but in summer, notwithstanding the want of trees, 
would seem to present a more gay and agreeable prospect. On the 
eastern shore the mountain, or rather wall, of high table land rises 
with more boldness than on the western side, though in all places 
the descent to the lake is steep and abrupt, with occasional spaces, 
chiefly at the south, between the lake and the base of the hills. The 
clear gravelly bottom shelves very gradually, and is strewed with 
pebbles, which, from the clearness of the waters, are visible at a great 
depth. The water-level varies with the season; during or after the 
rains, when the torrents from the hills and mountains stream into 
the lake, it rises considerably, and overflows the court-yards of the 
houses along its shore in Tiberias. Like all mountain lakes, it is 
subject to sudden storms, from the wind blowing in gusts through 



116 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the barrier which surrounds it, but these are seldom of long continu- 
ance. It was during one of these sudden and unexpected storms that 
our Lord " said unto the sea, ' Peace, be still/ and suddenly there 
was a great calm." 

The lake is full of fish, but so much have industry and population 
diminished, that since the visit of Lieut. Lynch, who purchased and 
carried off the one solitary boat mentioned by so many previous trav- 
ellers, and which was wrecked in one of the rapids of the Jordan, 
there does not seem to be a single bark left upon these beautiful and 
productive waters, and all the fishing is carried on from the banks. 
The fish, however, from the recent accounts of Dr. Wilson, Lieut. 
Lynch, and others, are numerous and excellent, and furnish no in- 
considerable portion of the food of the inhabitants of its shores. 
They include several species of carp, and of silurus and other kinds 
whose species is unascertained, but some of which have been identi- 
fied with those of the Nile. This fact was noticed by Josephus, who 
adds that " people supposed the fountain Caphanaum to be a vein 
of the Nile, because it produces the coracine fish like the lake near 
Alexandria." The number of edible fishes, both as to quantity and 
species, is very great, but is said by the inhabitants of Tiberias not 
to be so great at present as before the terrific earthquake of 1837. 
It seems a favourite haunt of birds ; water-fowl are seen hovering 
over its surface or floating on its still bosom. Among these are 
white pelicans, similar to those of India, many king-fishers of a large 
species, and wild ducks. Around the margin and neighbouring hills 
numerous birds make the still air vocal with their songs, flocks of 
pigeons wheel from place to place, the busy locust-bird plies his use- 
ful labours, while in the distant mountains the eagle and the vulture 
make their homes. 

Along the western side is that plain of Gennesaret, whose fertility 
is celebrated in such glowing terms by Josephus : — " The country 
named G-ennesar extends along the lake, wonderful both for its 
nature and beauty. On account of its fertility it refuses no tree ; 
the cultivators plant in it all kinds of trees, and the temperature of 
the atmosphere suits the several sorts; for walnuts, which require 
the greatest cold, flourish there in vast quantities, and also palm 
trees, which require heat : while fig trees and olives, which require 
a milder atmosphere, grow near them. One may say that it is the 
ambition of nature which forces together the things that are natu- 
rally enemies to one another, and that there is a happy contention 
of the seasons of the year, and if each of them laid claim to this dis- 
trict as its own : for it not only nourishes different sorts of fruits 
beyond men's expectation, but long preserves them. It supplies men 
with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs during ten months of 
the year without intermission, and with the rest of the fruits through- 
out the whole year as they ripen in course. And besides the good 



DEAD SEA. 117 

temperature of the atmosphere, it is also watered from a most fertile 
fountain, called Capharnaum by the natives."* Of the natural 
powers of the soil, flavoured by the moist heat of the climate, there 
can be no doubt, from the testimony of modern travellers. The valley, 
according to Dr. Wilson, has every appearance of the greatest fer- 
tility, and when kept in order and properly laid out, must have been 
truly beautiful and delightful. At present it has some rich pastur- 
age and cultivated fields, bearing luxuriant crops of corn, rice, and 
vegetables. Lynch calls it a luxuriant plain, which might be a per- 
fect garden, though then exhibiting only some cucumber and melon 
beds and fields of millet. Its melons, according to Burckhardt, are 
celebrated all over the East. Dr. Robinson says, " The products of 
the vegetable kingdom around Tiberias are not unlike those near Jeri- 
cho; but plants of a more southern clime are here less predominant. 
Scattered palm trees are seen, and further north, at least around Mej- 
del, the thorny Niibk appears again, as also the oleander, which we 
had found in such abundance in and near Wady Musa. Indigo is 
also raised, but in no great quantity. The usual productions of the 
fields are wheat, barley, millet, tobacco, melons, grapes, and a few 
vegetables/'*)" Further on he remarks of this plain in particular : — 
" It is exceedingly fertile and well watered ; the soil, on the south- 
ern part at least, is a rich black mould, which, in the vicinity of 
Mejdel, is almost a marsh. Its fertility, indeed, can hardly be ex- 
ceeded ; all kinds of grain and vegetables are produced in abund- 
ance, including rice in the moister parts ; while the natural produc- 
tions, as at Tiberias and Jericho, are those of a more southern lati- 
tude. Indeed, in beauty, fertility, and climate, the whole tract 
answers well enough to the glowing though exaggerated description 
of Josephus. Among other productions, he speaks here also of 
walnut trees ; but we did not note whether any now exist." 

Dead Sea. 

This is the name which has been given to the remarkable lake that 
finally receives the Jordan into its deep depressed basin. Connected 
as its history is with the overthrow of the ancient cities of the plain, 
the imagination of writers and visitors gave to it a mysterious charac- 
ter, which it required the scientific observations of numerous travellers 
to dispel; yet still, when all exaggeration has been swept away, 
there exists enough in the stern reality of this extraordinary sea to 
excite wonder and amazement. It is not named or alluded to in the 
New Testament, but in the Old is mentioned under the names of 
"the Salt Sea" (Gen. xiv.), " Sea of the Plain" (Deut, iv. 40), 
and the " Eastern Sea," by the Prophets Joel, Ezekiel, Zechariah. 
By Josephus and the classic writers it was termed the lake Asphal- 

* Josephus, Bell. Jud. iii. f Robinson, ii. 265. 



118 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

tites, from the quantities of asphaltum which it yielded. The Arabs 
call it Bahr Lut, " The Sea of Lot." 

This singular inland sea having no connection with the ocean, and 
though receiving the copious stream of the Jordan, the Zerka, the 
Arnon and several winter brooks, giving out no stream, occupies a 
deep hollow, the lowest depression of the enormous ravine, which has 
been described under the title of the Grhor. With the exception of 
a peninsula which projects from the eastern shore, its general form 
is that of a parallelogram of forty miles in length, and from eight to 
nine miles in width. It may be considered as divided into two un- 
equal portions by this peninsula, as the southern point of it advances 
to within two miles of the opposite shore. The southern and smaller 
portion, comprising about one-fourth of the whole, is uniformly shal- 
low, in no one point exceeding fifteen feet, and terminates in a salt 
marsh, over which the waters advance and retire, with the changing 
level of the lake, so as to enlarge and diminish the extent of its sur- 
face. The upper and larger portion is much deeper over its whole 
extent, and in one place reaches the enormous depth of 218 fathoms, 
while it frequently gives soundings of over 190 fathoms. It seems 
subject to an annual rise of from ten to fifteen feet, and its only cur- 
rents are those produced by winds. In the east and west the moun- 
tains, or rather table lands, sink down precipitously to the deep caldron 
of the sea in grey cliffs of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet high, leaving under 
them narrow strips of shore widening occasionally where ravines de- 
scend from above. In some places they exhibit patches of vegeta- 
tion, chiefly cane brakes, round the scanty springs at the base of the 
cliffs. Its waters are so acrid that no fish can live in them, and of 
much greater specific gravity than that of ordinary sea-water. 

Previous to the expedition of Lieut. Lynch, in 1848, our know- 
ledge of this locality was derived from the casual notices of travel- 
lers along the shores and neighbouring mountains; but his regular 
and continuous survey, assisted by boats, supplies us with such com- 
plete and accurate information, that we shall endeavour to lay before 
our readers in a concise form the results of his examination. 

There is a tradition among the Arabs that no one could venture 
on this sea of death, and live. Two gallant travellers, Costigan 
and Molyneux, had sacrificed their lives in the attempt. The first 
spent a few days, the last about twenty hours, upon the lake, 
and returned to the place whence he had embarked without reaching 
the opposite shore. One was found dying upon the shore, the other 
expired immediately after his return, by fever contracted upon its 
waters. On the 18th of April 1848, the United States' expedition, 
consisting of two boats, one copper, the other galvanized iron, 
entered the sea from the Jordan. This river flows into the sea with 
a stream eighty yards wide, seven feet deep, and with a current of 
three miles an hour. Its course cannot be traced through the sea 



LAKE ASPHALTITES, OR THE DEAD SEA. 119 

beyond its entrance, owing probably to the density of the water it 
meets, which checks its progress. At its mouth, near the entrance, 
there are one large and two small islands of mud six or eight feet 
high, and evidently subject to overflow. The northern coast is an 
extensive mud flat, with a sandy plain beyond, and is the very "type 
of desolation; branches and trunks of trees lie scattered in every 
direction, some charred and blackened as by fire, others white, with 
an incrustation of salt. These were collected along high-water-mark, 
the sea having at this period fallen about seven feet. 

The north-western shore is an unmixed bed of gravel, coming in 
a gradual slope from the mountains to the sea. The higher part 
incrusted with salt, and thinly covered with sour and saline bushes ; 
some dead and withered and crumbling to the touch. From this 
shore projects in a gravelly point a peninsula connected with the 
main by a low narrow isthmus, which must occasionally be covered 
by the waters so as to form an island, the existence of which in this 
sea was denied by Dr. Robinson, and has been asserted by Stephens, 
Warburton, and Dr. Wilson. 

The eastern coast is a rugged line of mountains bare of all vege- 
tation, coming from the north, and when seen from a distance 
appearing to throw out three marked and seemingly equidistant 
promontories from its south-eastern extremity. Proceeding along 
the western shore we find the spring El Feshkah. It is a shallow 
and clear stream of water, at the high temperature of 84°, flowing 
from a cane brake, near the foot of a mountain, which is 1,000 feet 
high, and composed of old crumbling limestone and conglomerate of 
a dull ochre colour. Its waters are soft, yet brackish, and there is 
no deposit of silicious or cretaceous matter, but it has a strong smell 
of sulphur. It spreads' over a considerable space towards the beach, 
which is covered with minute angular fragments of flint and pebbles 
of bituminous limestone. The absence of rounded pebbles or gravel, 
and the sharp angular character of the flint, form remarkable features 
of the beach all around the sea. " There are some fresh-water 
shells found in the bed of this stream. The scene around it is one 
of unmixed desolation. The air, tainted with the suphuretted 
hydrogen of the stream, gives a tawny hue even to the foliage of 
the cane, and except it there is at this season no vegetation what- 
ever." * Barren mountains, fragments of rock blackened by sul- 
phureous deposits and an unnatural sea, with low dead trees upon its 
margin, all bear a sad sombre aspect. A low narrow plain, skirted 
with cane, continues to form the shore as far as the cape, or Eas El 
Feshkah. 

South of the mouth of the Kidron the strip of shore spreads out 
and exhibits a luxuriant line of green immediately at the foot of the 

» * Lynch. 



120 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

cliff. The beach is of coarse dark gravel, and the mountains all along 
are brown and barren. At Ain Turabeh is a small stream, and the 
clear shelving beach, the numerous tamarisk and ghurrah trees, and 
the deep green of the luxuriant cane, render it by contrast a delightful 
spot.* The water of the fountain, though warm, is pure and sweet, 
its temperature being 75° ; it trickles from the north of a little bay 
within ten paces of the sea, and the sand is discoloured by sulphu- 
reous deposits. In the stream were several lily stalks and a pista- 
chia, or terebinth, in full blossom, but without fragrance \ besides 
these were the yellow henbane, the night shade or wolf grape, a 
plant used in making barilla, and a species of kale, common to saline 
formations, and found also near the salt lakes of America. From 
this place extends Ain Jidy, a range of conglomerate in horizontal 
strata, terminating in a range of sandhills half the height of the 
burnt-looking mountains of limestone, which are furrowed with dry 
water-courses. 

At Ain Jidy Dr. Robinson describes a fine rich plain sloping off 
from the base of the declivity for nearly half-a-mile to the shore. 
The length of this plain is little more than half-a-mile, it being 
nearly a square, but its soil is exceedingly fertile, and might easily 
be tilled and produce rare fruit. So far as the waters extended, 
though then (in May) nearly dried up, the plain was covered with 
gardens chiefly of cucumbers. There are, in various parts of it, 
traces of unimportant ruins, and the whole descent of the ravine 
along the brook was apparently once terraced for tillage and gardens. 
Yet, on 22nd April, Lynch, with Dr. Robinson's account in view, 
says we found here a broad, sloping delta at the mouth of a dry 
gorge in the mountain. The surface of the plain is dust, covered 
with coarse pebbles and minute fragments of stone, mostly flint, 
with here and there a Nubk and some other trees • further on, how- 
ever, he speaks of " terraces bearing marks of former cultivation, 
being perhaps cucumber-beds, such as seen by Dr. Robinson and 
Mr. Smith." They were owned by the Ta'a-mirah, and had been 
destroyed a short time before by hostile Arabs. He also found some 
prickly cucumbers or gherkins in detached places. There were two 
patches of barley standing, which during his stay the proprietors 
came to reap. 

From this point southwards the mountains are limestone in hori- 
zontal strata, with numerous ravines, which form deltas, in some of 
which the presence of water was indicated by verdure. In this ridge 
lies the mountain of Sebbeh, or Masada; it is a perpendicular cliff 
from 1,200 to 1,500 feet high, removed some distance from the 
margin of the sea by an intervening delta of sand and detritus of 
more than two miles in width. It is a mass of scorched and cal- 
cined rock, regularly laminated at its summit, and isolated from 
the rugged strip which skirts the western shore by deep and 



THE DEAD SEA — USDUM. 121 

darkly-sliadowed defiles and lateral ravines. Its aspect from the sea is 
one of stern and solemn grandeur, and seems in harmony with the 
fearful records of the past. The coast continues similar for some 
distance south, with several spots indicating the presence of water, 
and in one place is a portion of a wall and many remains of terraces, 
where Costigan thought he had found the ruins of Gomorrah. 

On the beach were innumerable dead locusts, bitumen in occa- 
sional lumps, and incrustations of lime and salt. Then appeared in 
front of a ravine a beautiful patch of vegetation, with intervals of 
gravel and sand. This extends to Usdum, which is perfectly insu- 
lated, and has the same appearance as the eastern and western 
mountains, being probably incrusted with carbonate of lime. The 
shore under it — the land of Usdum — is a broad flat marshy delta 
coated with salt and bitumen, and yielding to the foot. On the 
mountain is the singular pillar of salt, which Josephus and mediaeval 
superstition pointed out as the identical one into which Lot's wife 
was changed. We shall describe it in the words of Lieut. Lynch : — 
" On the eastern side of Usdum, one-third the distance from its 
northern extremity, is a lofty round pillar, standing apparently 
detached from the general mass, at the head of a deep, narrow, and 
abrupt chasm. We immediately pulled in for the shore, and Dr. 
Anderson and I went up and examined it. The beach was a soft, 
slimy mud, encrusted with salt, and a short distance from the water, 
covered with saline fragments and flakes of bitumen. We found 
the pillar to be of solid salt, capped with carbonate of lime, cylin- 
drical in front and pyramidal behind. The upper or rounded part 
is about forty feet high, resting on a kind of oval pedestal from forty 
to sixty feet above the level of the sea. It slightly decreases in size 
upwards, crumbles at the top, and is one entire mass of crystalliza- 
tion. A prop, or buttress, connects it with the mountain behind, 
and the whole is covered with debris of a light-stone colour. Its 
peculiar shape is doubtless attributable to the action of the winter 
rains." * After passing this, the boat could not get within 200 
yards of the beach, and the footprints made in landing were on 
return incrusted with salt : this shoalness of water continues round 
the whole southern portion. When one of the party landed, " his 
feet sank first through a layer of slimy mud, a foot deep, then 
through a crust of salt, and then through another foot of mud, 
before reaching a firm bottom. The beach was so hot as to blister 
the feet. From the water's edge he made his way with difficulty 
for more than a hundred yards, over black mud coated with salt and 
bitumen." *j~ The southern shore presented a mud flat, which is 
terminated by the high hills bounding the Ghor to the southward. 
A very extensive plain or delta, low and marshy towards the sea, 

* Lynch, 307. f Ibid. 310. 

11 



122 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

but rising gently and farther back, covered with luxuriant green, 
is the outlet of Wady es Safieh (clear ravine), bearing S. E. by S. 
u Anxious to examine it we coasted along, just keeping the boat 
afloat, the in-shore oars stirring up the mud. The shore was full 
three-fouths of a mile distant ; the line of demarkation scarce per- 
ceptible, from the stillness of the water and the smooth shining 
surface of the marsh. On the flat beyond were lines of drift-wood, 
and here and there, in the shallow water, branches of dead trees, 
which like those at the peninsula, were coated with saline incrusta- 
tions. The bottom was so very soft that it yielded to everything, 
and at each cast the sounding-lead sank deep into the mud. Ther- 
mometer 95°. Threw the drag over, but it brought up nothing but 
soft marshy light-coloured mud." 

" It was, indeed, a scene of unmitigated desolation. On one side, 
rugged and worn, was the salt mountain of Usdum, with its con- 
spicuous pillar, which reminded us, at least, of the catastrophe of the 
plain ; on the other, were the lofty and barren cliffs of Moab, in one 
of the caves of which the fugitive Lot found shelter. To the south 
was an extensive flat intersected by sluggish drains, with the high 
hills of Edom semi-girding the salt plain where the Israelites repeat- 
edly overthrew their enemies ; and to the north was the calm and 
motionless sea, curtained with a purple mist, while many fathoms 
deep in the slimy mud beneath it lay embedded the ruins of the ill- 
fated cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The glare of light was blind- 
ing to the eye, and the atmosphere difficult of respiration. No bird 
fanned with its wing the attenuated air, through which the sun poured 
his scorching rays upon the mysterious element on which we floated, 
and which alone, of all the works of its Maker, contains no living 
thing within it. Along the eastern side, up the peninsula, a long 
narrow deep marsh separates the water from a range of stupendous 
hills 2,000 feet high. The peninsula, seen from a distance, has the 
shape of an outspread wing." It is a bold, broad promontory, from 
forty to sixty feet high, with a sharp, angular, central ridge some 
twenty feet above it, and a broad margin of sand at its foot incrusted 
with salt and bitumen. The perpendicular face, extending all round, 
presents the coarse and chalky appearance of recent carbonate of lime. 
Its summit is regular though rugged, in some places showing the 
tent-shape formation, in others composed of a series of disjointed 
crags. On the western side it extends north and south, leaving a 
deep bay at its northern side. It is composed of loose, calcareous 
marl, with incrustations of salt and indications of sulphur, nitre, gyp- 
sum, marly clay, &c. The northern extremity is clalk with flint, 
the texture soft and crumbling. The bay at the north, Lynch sup- 
poses to be " the bay that looketh southward," mentioned in Joshua 
(xv. 2). 

Of the eastern shore, from the peninsula northwards, the scenery 



THE DEAD SEA — LAND OF USDUM. 123 

is very similar to that already described. The whole mountain in 
some places appears one black mass of scoriae and lava, the super- 
position of the layers giving them a singular appearance. In the 
rocky hollows of the shore are incrustations of salt, and upon the 
beach are large black boulders of trap, interspersed with lava. 
Wherever there are rivulets, lines of green cane and tamarisks, with 
an occasional date-palm tree, vary the dreariness of the scene. In 
one place are twenty-nine of these trees along the banks of a beauti- 
ful little stream, while further north is a tiny but foaming cataract, 
with its whole course fringed with shrubbery. Upon this coast is the 
mouth of the Arnon, already described, and the outlet of the warm 
springs of Callirohoe, which, next to the Jordan, are the largest 
tributaries to the Dead Sea. This outlet is thus described by 
Lynch * : — " The stream is twelve feet wide and ten inches deep, 
and rushes in a southerly direction with great velocity into the sea. 
Temperature of the air, 77° ; of the sea, 78° ; of the stream, 94° ; 
one mile up the chasm, 95°. It was a little sulphureous to the taste. 
The stream has worn its bed through the rock, and flows between 
the perpendicular sides of the chasm and through the delta, bending 
to the south, for about two furlongs, to the sea. The banks of the 
stream along the delta are fringed with canes, tamarisks, and the 
castor-bean. The chasm is 122 feet wide at the mouth, and for one 
mile up, as far as we traced it, does not lessen in width. The sides 
of the chasm are about eighty feet high where it opens upon the 
delta ) but within they rise in altitude to upwards of one hundred 
and fifty-feet on each side, where the trap formation is exhibited. 
In the bed of the chasm there was one stream, on the south side eight 
feet wide and two deep, and two small streams in the centre, all 
rushing down at the rate of six knots per hour. There were no 
boulders in the bed of the ravine, which in the winter must, through- 
out its width and high up the sides, pour down an impetuous flood. 
The walls of the chasm are lofty and perpendicular, of red and yel- 
low sandstone, equally majestic and imposing, but not worn into 
such fantastic shapes, nor of so rich a hue, as those of the Arnon. 
Waded up about a mile, and saw a few date-palm trees growing in 
the chasm. The turns, about two hundred yards apart, at first 
gently rounded, but subsequently sharp and angular. There was a 
succession of rapids, and a cascade of four, and a perpendicular fall 
of five or six feet. A little above the rapid, trap shows over sand- 
stone. The current was so strong that while bathing I could not, 
with my feet against a rock, keep from being carried down the stream ; 
and walking where it was but two feet deep, could with difficulty 
retain a foothold with my shoes off. There were many incrustations 
of lime, and some tufa." 

* Page 370. 



124 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

The bottom of the sea is everywhere mud sprinkled over with rec- 
tangular crystals of salt. It would appear from the soundings to 
consist of two submerged plains, an elevated and a depressed one ; 
the former averaging thirteen, and the latter thirteen hundred feet 
below the surface. Through the northern plain, which is the largest 
and deepest, and in a line corresponding with the bed of the Jordan, 
is a ravine which again seems to correspond with the Wady el Jeib, 
or " ravine within a ravine." At the south end of the sea, between 
the mouth of the Jabbok and the sea, a sudden break-down in the 
bed of the Jordan has been observed. If there be a similar break 
in the watercourses to the south of the sea, accompanied with like 
volcanic characters, there can scarcely be a doubt that the whole Ghor 
has sunk from extraordinary convulsions, preceded most probably by 
an eruption of fire and a general conflagration of the bitumen which 
abounded in the plain. • 

The southern and shallow portion of the sea is supposed to have 
been the plain of Sodom. It appears indeed certain, from the obser- 
vations of Dr. Robinson, that the Jordan never communicated with 
the Red Sea, but discharged its waters into a lake which, by a con- 
vulsion of nature, was increased in depth and size, overwhelming at 
the same time the fertile plain to the south and forming the present 
sea. The plain of Siddim, we know, was full of u slime pits," and 
from these probably is still derived the bitumen which has been 
seen floating in large masses on the surface, particularly -after earth- 
quakes, and which, under the name asphaltum, gives one of its names 
to the sea. Sulphur is found in moderate quantities, and a black 
stone of a bituminous character, of which ornaments are made for the 
pilgrims at Bethlehem. The natural deposit of salt on the shore 
affords a plentiful supply to the Arabs. The waters, as we have 
before incidentally remarked, are much more dense than those 
of the ocean. An egg will float in them with a third of its bulk 
above the surface ; the human body floats without the slightest exer- 
tion with the water not above breast high, and Lieut. Lynch remarked 
that the draught of his boats was with the same load much less in 
this sea than in the Sea of Galilee. This greater density of the water, 
arising from the quantity of solid matter which it holds in solution, 
is caused by the rapid evaporation excited by the high temperature 
of its depressed basin. The fiery heat of a southern sun beating on 
its surface, and reflected from the chalky cliffs around, draws off the 
water, while it leaves behind the solid matter which for ages has been 
borne down by the Jordan, and the sulphureous springs which burst 
forth round its border. 

The pestilential character of the water of the sea and its neigh- 
bourhood, after having been for centuries considered a matter of cer- 
tainty, has in modern times been doubted, and now seems disproved. 
Birds have been seen flying with impunity over its surface, animals 



THE DEAD SEA — PLAIN OP SODOM. 125 

and men live around its shores. That it has an injurious effect upon 
the health seems however certain, though it is accounted for by other 
causes than a poisonous quality in the waters. The Arabs shun it, 
and stuff onions in the nostrils as a fancied specific against the malaria 
of this " accursed sea." The best evidence as to its real effects and 
their causes is that of Lieut. Lynch.* After having, during ten 
days, been constantly upon or near the sea in the prosecution of his 
survey, he says : " Thus far all, with one exception, had enjoyed good 
health, but there were symptoms which caused me uneasiness. The 
figure of each one assumed a dropsical appearance. The lean had 
become stout, and the stout almost corpulent, the pale faces had be- 
come florid, and those which were florid, ruddy ; moreover, the slight- 
est scratch festered, and the bodies of many of us were covered with 
small pustules. The men complained bitterly of the irritation of their 
sores whenever the acrid water of the sea touched them. Still all 
had good appetites, and I hoped for the best. There could be nothing 
pestilential in the atmosphere of the sea. There is little verdure upon 
its shores, and, by consequence, but little vegetable decomposition to 
render the air impure, and the foetid smell we had frequently noticed 
doubtless proceeded from the sulphur-impregnated thermal springs, 
which were not considered deleterious. Three times, it is true, we 
have picked up dead birds, but they, doubtless, had perished from 
exhaustion, and not from any malaria of the sea, which is perfectly 
inodorous, and, more than any other, abounds with saline exhalations, 
which, I believe, are considered wholesome. Our Ta'a-mirah told us 
that, in pursuance of the plan he had adopted with regard to the set- 
tlement of the Grhor, Ibrahim Pasha sent three thousand Egyptians 
to the shores of this sea about ten years since, and that every one 
died within two months. This is, no doubt, very much exaggerated/' 
The water has been frequently analysed, and with very similar 
results. We shall conclude our account with a few of these analyses. 

Prof. 
Gmelin. 

Specific gravity 1*212 

Chloride of Calcium 3-214 

Magnesia 11-773 

Potassium .... 1-673 

Sodium 7-077 

Manganese .... 0-211 

Aluminum 0-089 

Ammonium .... 0-007 

Bromide of Magnesium .... 0-439 0-201 

" Potassium 0-137 

Sulphate of Lime 0-052 1-075 0070 



Doctor 


Booth and 


Apjohn. 


Muckle. 


1-153 


1-227 


2-438 


3-107 


7-370 


14-589 


0-852 


0-658 


7-839 


7-855 


0-005 





Total Amount of Solids . . . 24-535 18-780* 26-413 

* Page 335. 

f The water submitted to Br. Apjohn was from near the mouth of the 
Jordan. 



126 scripture geography. 

Pools, Wells, etc. 

In addition to the lakes, there are several small pieces of water — 
some natural, but the greater number artificial — which require 
notice, from the important events with which their names are asso- 
ciated. The most remarkable of these are — the Pools of Solomon, 
of Siloam, of Bethesda, and of G-ihon ; Jacob's Well, and that of 
Beersheba; and the Fountain of Elisha. 

Pools of Solomon. 

These lie several miles south of the city, between Hebron and 
Bethlehem, and were apparently reservoirs, in which to collect a 
supply of water for the latter city and Jerusalem. They are three 
solidly-constructed and capacious stone tanks, with steps descending 
into them. Even at the present day Bethlehem is dependent on 
them in a great measure for its supply of water; and the remains 
of an aqueduct may be traced onward from near this town to the 
lower pool of Gihon, from which, probably, the temple was supplied. 
The construction of these reservoirs is ascribed to Solomon, whence 
their name is derived. 

Pools of Gihon. 

These also are to the south, but much more in the vicinity of the 
Holy City. The upper pool is- at the head of the ravine, which 
passes to the west, and afterwards south, of the city, and which at 
first has the name of Valley of Gihon, but beyond the lower pool is 
known as the Valley of Hinnom. 

King Hezekiah, we are told, " stopped the upper watercourse of 
Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of 
David," * in order to bring it into the city by a subterranean chan- 
nel, and so deprive the Assyrian invaders of water in case of a siege. 

The purpose which they served was the same as those of Solo- 
mon; and, in fact, such contrivances for a constant supply were 
indispensable in a country such as Palestine, deficient as it is of 
perennial streams. 

Pool of Siloam. 

This was a reservoir in the eastern valley, or that of Jehoshaphat, 
as that of Gihon was in the western ravine, and the surplus water 
. of both drained down the ravines until they united near En Rogel, 
and formed in winter the brook Kidron. Near the junction of the 
two ravines, which nearly gird Jerusalem, was the " King's Garden/' 
and the well of Nehemiah, or Job, a fount of living water, which 

* 2 Chron. xxxii. 30. 



POOL OF BETHESDA — JACOBUS WELL. 127 

in winter overflows. Siloam is mentioned in Isaiah as flowing water, 
and is so conceived by Milton in the phrase — 

Siloa's brook that flowed 
Fast by the oracle of God. 

By Nehemiah * it is spoken of as a pool, and it gets the same desig- 
nation in the Gospel of St. John — " Go wash in the pool of Siloam 
(which is by interpretation, Sent). He went his way, therefore, and 
washed, and came seeing/ ' f It is an intermittent well, ebbing and 
flowing at irregular intervals, and receives its waters by an artificial 
subterranean passage, at the enormous length of 1,750 feet, traced 
by Dr. Robinson from the Fountain of the Virgin, which is situated 
higher up in the valley. 

Pool of Bethesda. 

The situation ascribed to this is near the Gate of St. Stephen, 
within the city ; but Dr. Bobinson thinks that it could not have 
been here, and that the excavation pointed out as the site of the 
pool is merely the remains of a trench made to separate the fortress 
from the neighbouring hill of Bezetha. Without deciding the 
question, he suggests the Fountain of the Virgin, above mentioned, 
as most probably that which bore the name of Bethesda. This was 
suggested to the mind of this observant traveller by his having wit- 
nessed one of the irregular flowings of the Pool of Siloam. " In 
the account," he says, " of the Pool of Bethesda, situated near the 
Sheep [-Gate], we are told that ; an angel went down at a certain 
season into the pool, and troubled the water ;' and then whosoever 
first stepped in was made whole. J There seems to have been no 
special medicinal virtue in the water itself; but only he who first 
stepped in after the troubling was healed. Does not this c troubling ' 
of the water look like the irregular flow of the fountain just de- 
scribed ? And as the Sheep-Gate seems to have been situated not 
far from the temple,§ and the wall of the ancient city probably 
ran along this valley, may not that gate have been somewhere in 
this part, and this Fountain of the Virgin have been Bethesda ? the 
same with the ' King's Pool ; of Nehemiah, and the ( Solomon's 
Pool' of Josephus? I suggest these questions as perhaps worthy 
of consideration, without having myself any definite conviction 
either way upon the subject." || 

Jacob's Well. 

This well is in the neighbourhood of Nabulus — a town which has 
been satisfactorily identified with the ancient Shechem, or Sychar, 

* Nehern. ii. 15. f ix. 7. % John v. 2—7. 

gNehem. iii. 1. || Researches, i. 507.' 



128 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

in Samaria. It is hewn out of the solid rock, and much labour must 
have been expended on its construction. Its diameter is about nine 
feet, and it is exactly seventy-five feet in depth, according to the 
recent measurement of Dr. Wilson. The mouth of it is an orifice, 
less than two feet wide, in an arch or dome ; and this again is sur- 
rounded by the ruins of a church, which once enclosed the well. 
Joseph's tomb is near, and Gerizim (the sacred mount of the 
Samaritans) in view. Here it was that " Jesus, being wearied with 
his journey, sat thus on the well," and conversed with the woman 
of Samaria. " Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called 
Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son 
Joseph."* Dr. Wilson says, "The tradition of Jews, Samaritans, 
Christians, and Muhammadans agree in its identification. Its depth, 
compared with that of other wells at and near Shechem, tells in 
favour of the accuracy of the judgment which has been formed 
respecting it. It appears to me that there is much good sense in the 
following observations on this matter of Messrs. Bonar and Cheyne. 
8 In all the other wells and fountains which we saw in this valley the 
water is within the reach of the hand; but in this one the water 
seems never to rise higher. This is one of the clear evidences that 
it is really the well of Jacob ; for at this day it would require, as in 
the days of our Lord, an apt^a, something to draw with, for it was 
deep/ On account of the great depth the water would be pecu- 
liarly cool, and the associations that connected this well with their 
father Jacob, no doubt made it to be highly esteemed. For these 
reasons, although there is a fine stream of water close by the 
west side of the town, at least two gushing fountains within the 
walls, and the fountain el-Defna, nearly a mile [half a mile] nearer 
the town, still the people of the town may very probably have rever- 
enced and frequented Jacob's Well. This may, in part, account for 
the Samaritan woman coming so far to draw water ; and there seems 
every probability that the town in former times extended much 
farther to the east than it does now. The narrative itself, however, 
seems to imply that the well was situated a considerable way from 
the town. No one acquainted with the custom of the people of the 
East, to have their wells in their own fields, will be at a loss to 
account for the digging of this well, even in the vicinity of the natural 
fountains and streamlets of the valley in which it it situated." f 

Beersheba. 

This well is situated in the south country and within the territory 
of the Philistines, and is of much interest in connection with the 
lives of the patriarchs. The name, signifying the well of the oath, 
was given to it by Abraham, who digged the well when he and 

* John iv. 5. f Dr. Wilson, ii. 69. 



FOUNTAIN OF ELISHA. 129 

Abimelech made a covenant, " wherefore he called that place Beer- 
sheba, because there they sware both of them." * The best descrip- 
tion of this locality is that of Professor Robinson : — 

" On the northern side of the Wady-es-Seba, close upon the bank, 
are two deep wells still called Bir-es-Seba, the ancient Beersheba. 
We have here the borders of Palestine ! The wells are some dis- 
tance apart; they are circular, and stoned up very neatly with solid 
masonry, apparently much more ancient than that of the well at 
Abdeh. The larger one is twelve and a half feet in diameter, and 
forty-four and a half feet deep to the surface of the water, sixteen 
feet of which at the bottom is excavated in the solid rock. The 
other well lies fifty-five rods W.S.W., and is five feet in diameter, 
and forty-two feet deep. The water in both pure and sweet, and in 
great abundance, the finest indeed we have found since leaving 
Sinai. Both wells are surrounded with drinking-troughs of stone 
for camels and flocks; such as were doubtless used of old for the 
flocks which then fed on the adjacent hills. The curb-stones were 
deeply worn by the friction of the ropes in drawing up water by 
hand. 

" Here, then, is the place where the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob often dwelt ! Here Abraham dug, perhaps, this very 
well, and journeyed from hence with Isaac to Mount Moriah, to offer 
him up there as a sacrifice. Erom this place Jacob fled to Padan- 
Aran, after acquiring the birthright and blessing belonging to his 
brother; and here, too, he sacrificed to the Lord, on setting off to 
meet his son Joseph in Egypt. Here Samuel made his sons judges; 
and from here Elijah wandered out into the southern desert, and sat 
down under a shrub of Retem, just as our Arabs sat down under it 
every day and every night, tlere was the border of Palestine Proper, 
which extended from Dan to Beersheba. Over these swelling hills 
the flocks of the patriarchs once roved by thousands ; where now we 
found only a few camels, asses, and goats !" 

Fountain of Elisha. 

This is the source of the stream which supplies Jericho, and its 
neighbourhood, with sweet and fertilizing water. The name has been 
given from the miracle recorded of Elisha, in 2 Kings ii. 19. " The 
men of the city [Jericho] said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the 
situation of this city is pleasant, as my Lord seeth : but the water is 
naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new 
cruse and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he 
went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there 
and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there 
shall not be from thence any more death, or barren land. So the 

* Gen. xxi. 31. 



130 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha 
which he spake." It is about a quarter of a mile distant from the 
Karantal or Quarantania mountain, and near the site of the ancient 
Jericho. It is thus described by Dr. Wilson : — u We had a pleasant 
and cool walk to this copious spring along the rivulet which proceeds 
from it, and we met with no annoyance, as some have dome, from 
the Arabs of the plain, who observed our motions. The stream, 
which is clear and full, is at its source received into a reservoir some 
five yards in breadth, ten in length, and about a foot deep, but not 
now in a state of good repair. The spring is similar to others which 
we observed issuing forth from the cretaceous rocks of the lands of 
Israel and Lebanon. It appears at a mound probably forming the 
remains of some old building, and immediately enters a shallow and 
dilapidated reservoir, in which we observed many small fishes from 
two to six inches long. It is shaded by a beautiful fig-tree, called 
the Tin-es-Sultan. There can be no doubt that it is rightly asso- 
ciated with the name Elisha, as no other fount from which Jericho 
could be watered is to be found in this part of the valley."* 

Geology. 

The whole, of the western district, and the eastern as far as it has 
been observed, are of an almost perfectly uniform structure, being 
composed of limestone, similar to that of the Jura district, and indu- 
rated chaik, which has been commonly described as white limestone. 
Fossil shells are numerous, principally echini, with their detached 
spines and processes; these are very abundant on Carmel, particu- 
larly in a place which the monks of the neighbouring convent call 
the garden of Elias. Many of them have the shape of pears, melons, 
&c, and the monks call them "petrified fruits," saying, that they 
are " the consequence of a curse of the prophet, in punishment of 
the proprietors of the garden, who refused to allow him and his dis- 
ciples to partake of their fruit. These stones are what are called by 
others lapides Judaici."f 

This formation abounds in natural caverns and grottoes, many of 
which were artificially enlarged by the ancient inhabitants, and have 
evidently been used for residences as well as tombs. They are fre- 
quently referred to in the Old Testament as hiding-places, not merely 
for individuals, but for the whole people, as in Judges vi. 2, u Be- 
cause of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens 
which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds;" and 1 Sam. 
xiii. 6, " The people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, 
and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits." At the present time 
the peasantry in several districts use these excavations for residences, 
as we learn from Buckingham, Wilkinson, and other travellers. The 

* Dr. Wilson, ii. 12. f Wilson's Lands of the Bible, iL 247. 



GEOLOGY OF PALESTINE. 131 

use of these natural or artificial excavations as places of burial is 
exemplified in the early instance of Abraham's purchasing the field 
and cave of Machpelah, li Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave 
of the field of Machpelah before Mamre ; the same is Hebron, in the 
land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, were 
made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying place by the 
sons of Heth."* The same practice in later times is shown in the 
account of our Lord's burial : u And he took it (the body) down, 
and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in 
stone, wherein never man before was laid.""j" 

In the region of Lebanon, and in fact from Cana northwards, 
basalt makes its appearance over the chalk or limestone. Both on 
the plain above Tiberias and in the basin of the lake a good many 
black stones and boulders of basaltic tufa are scattered about, over 
the cretaceous rock, and dykes of basalt burst through it in several 
places. The walls of the town are of dark basalt; Jacob's bridge 
is constructed of the same material, and the whole of the wild and 
dreary region between this bridge and Tiberias, and north of Lake 
Huleh, consist almost wholly of basalt. Near the Dead Sea, " among 
the cretaceous rocks by which the sea is bounded on the north-west 
corner, we found the black bituminous limestone of which so many 
trinkets are made at Bethlehem. Externally it appeared white, and 
scarcely distinguished from the ordinary rock of the desert. On 
being broken, however, it appeared black as jet. It emits from fric- 
tion a strong sulphureous smell." J This is the " stink-stone " of 
Professor Bobinson. Other volcanic appearances are frequent, but 
confined to the district around lake Huleh and Tiberias, the region 
of depression along the Jordan valley and the Dead Sea. The springs 
which gush out around the last-mentioned sea are, as we have de- 
scribed, nearly all sulphureous, and the hot springs of Callirohoe in 
the south, and those of Tiberias to the north, seem to be of the same 
character and origin. Sulphur is found in small pieces scattered over 
the surface in the northern part of the valley and about the shores 
of the Dead Sea. Bitumen is abundant ; the " slime pits " of the 
Vale of Siddim were most probably for the excavation of this sub- 
stance, and extensive beds exist and are occasionally worked near 
Hasbeiya. Mr. Thompson has given the following account of them : 
— " The wells," he says, " are dug in the side of a smooth and gently- 
declining hill, of soft chalky rock or indurated marl, abounding in 
nodules of flint. A shaft is sunk about twenty feet deep to the bed 
or stratum of bitumen, which appears to be horizontally, and is 
wrought like coal-mines. These wells are not worked; but the 
sheikh who formerly rented them of the Government informed mc 
that the supply was apparently inexhaustible ; and were it not for 

* Gen. xxiii. 19, 20. f Luke xxiii. 53. % Wilson. 



132 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the exorbitant demands of the Pasha, bitumen would be sold at the 
wells for about one hundred piastres the cantar. As the geological 
formation is exactly similar for many miles north and south of the 
mine, it is not improbable that this valuable product may be very 
abundant, and some future day of better things to Syria become an 
important article of commerce."* 

Shocks of earthquakes must naturally be expected in a country 
still exhibiting traces of volcanic action. The most destructive con- 
vulsion in modern times was that which in 1837 overwhelmed the 
city of Tiberias. The walls of the town and most of the houses were 
destroyed, and it is estimated that 700 persons perished out of a 
population of 2500. Lynch describes it as still in ruins in 1848. 
The shock is said to have been felt at intervals for a period of forty 
days after the great convulsion which overwhelmed the town. The 
same city is recorded to have been laid waste by a similar earthquake 
in 1759, and this seems to have extended over a wider area, for ac- 
cording to Volney the shocks were felt for three months in Mount 
Lebanon, and 20,000 persons were reported to have perished in the 
Bukaa. The Tell-el-Kady, north of the Huleh basin, though no 
marks of a crater can be traced in it, is covered over with scorise, 
and exhibits every appearance of former volcanic action. 

After a careful examination of the Lake of Tiberias and the coun- 
try around it, Dr. Wilson, whose geological notices are very valua- 
ble, says :■— " We were not able to aoquiesce in the conclusion of some 
travellers, that the lake at some geological era must have been the 
crater of a volcano. The basaltic rock along the sides of the lake, 
and which appears too at its northern borders, is connected however 
with some volcanic influence not yet extinct, as is intimated by the 
fearful earthquakes to which this part of the country is subject, and 
by which the great crevasse of the Jordan and of the Wadi 'Arabah, 
the continuation of its valley, has perhaps been formed. With this 
volcanic influence, the thermal springs near Hasbeiya, at Tiberias, 
those on the banks of the Yarmuk, and those on the Wadi Zerka 
Main, are probably connected. These hot wells bear a strong analogy 
to the series which we find among the trap hills in the northern and 
southern Konkan in India."*}* Sandstone has been observed in the 
neighbourhood of Acre and along the southern-coast plain, showing 
a more recent formation than the elevated country farther back. 
Lynch observed it, also, both the yellow and red varieties, about the 
mouth of the Arnon, and generally on the east of the Dead Sea, in 
the land of Moab. 

From the character of the rocks we should not expect to find any 
of the metals or precious stones within the limits of Palestine, 
although in Deut. viii. 9, we find the country described as a " land 

* Bib. Sacra, 1846. f Dr - Wilson, ii. 151. 



CLIMATE OF PALESTINE. 133 

whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig 
brass." * This account seems afterwards, however, more particu- 
larly applied to. the territory of Asher, of whom it is said " thy 
shoes shall be iron and brass f ~j~ and in the portion of this tribe, 
including Tyre and Sidon, these metals seem to have been abundant, 
for " from Tibhath, and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer,J brought 
David very much brass, wherewith Solomon made the brazen sea 
and the pillars and the vessels of brass. "§ Gold, which was so 
extensively used in the adornment of the Temple, was imported 
from India and Africa, and the precious stones were obtained as they 
now are from the same regions. 

We shall conclude our account of the geology with the following 
table of levels, which has been compiled from the most recent 
authorities, including the surveys of Schubert, Symonds, and Lynch. 

Feet. 

Hermon 10,000 above the sea. 

Hebron 3,029 " 

Mountains of Judah ... 3,000 " " 

" Moab . • . 3,000 " " 

Bethlehem 2,700 " 

Safed 2,500 " 

Gerizim 2,500 " " 

Table lands (average) . . 2,000 to 3,000 

Mount of Olives .... 2,398 " 

" Tabor .... 1,748 " 

" Carmel .... 1,726 " " 

Littoral Plain (average) . . 400 " " 

Lake Huleh 100 " " 

" Tiberias 329 below the sea. 

Dead Sea 1,312 " 

Natural History. 

I. Climate. 

The climate of Palestine, particularly on the table lands and in 
the elevated districts, has been described as healthy both by ancient 
and modern writers. The sky is clear, and the air healthful and 
invigorating ; but as in this land every blessing seems changed to a 
curse, the filth of the inhabitants, and their want of proper food and 
clothing to resist the sudden changes of temperature incidental to 
mountainous districts, render them a prey to fevers and the plague. 
The Jordan valley is, from its excessive heat, prejudicial to the 
health of strangers, though apparently not more injurious to the 
inhabitants than the more elevated districts. 

* As the ancients did not know or use the compound metal brass, though 
bronze was common amongst them, we must in this verse, and all others 
in which the word is used, understand it to mean copper. 

f Deut. xxxiii. 25. % King of Syria. $ 1 Chron, xviii. 8. 

12 



134 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

The seasons are much more regular than in our variable climate, 
a rainy and a dry period succeeding each other in ordinary years 
with almost tropical regularity. Of these the dry period is of sev- 
eral months' continuance, so that during a considerable part of the 
year rain rarely falls, and the sky is of a blue, unchanging clearness, 
scarcely broken even by a passing cloud. Rain in harvest and snow 
in summer are coupled together in the Proverbs as matters of equally 
rare occurrence, and rain in the time of wheat harvest was announced 
by the prophet Samuel, as "a great thing/' to be a sign of the dis- 
pleasure of the Almighty.* The latter end' of autumn and the 
winter are the periods of rain. The autumnal rains commence 
gradually in the end of October or beginning of November, and 
moisten the earth, parched after the summer droughts, enabling the 
husbandman to sow his wheat and barley. These seem to be what 
are termed in the Scripture the " first or former rain/' •}■ which was 
so anxiously looked forward to and welcomed both by man and 
brute, exhausted from the long-continued and burning heat of sum- 
mer. It usually comes on with a west or south-west wind. " When 
ye see a cloud rise out of the west/' said our Lord, " straightway 
ye say there cometh a shower, and so it is ;" and the messenger sent 
by Elijah to the top of Carmel saw u a little cloud rise out of the 
sea like a man's hand," soon after which " the heaven was black 
with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain." J After a few 
days, during which the rain falls chiefly during the night, the wind 
veers round to the east or north, and several fine days intervene; 
after which, during November and December the rain continues to 
fall heavily, swelling the mountain torrents and thoroughly saturating 
the porous soil. By degrees it becomes less continuous and heavy, 
but falls at intervals through the winter and up to March, after 
which it becomes rare. These later and gentle showers of spring, 
which serve to ripen the growing crops and swell the grain, must, if 
the seasons remain unchanged, be what are termed in Scripture " the 
latter rain." 

The winds are almost as regular in their changes as the seasons, 
depending greatly on the* motion of the sun in its annual course. 
For a space of about fifty days after the autumnal equinox, that is 
up to November, a dry sharp wind blows from the north-west; this 
is followed by a west and south-west wind, called by the Arabs " the 
father of rains," which prevails, as we have said, during the rainy 
season. In March the sirocco comes occasionally from the south 
with its stifling heat, but is less insupportable in the elevated regions 
than along the coast and in the Jordan valley ; its duration never 
exceeds three days continuously. Then easterly winds continue up 

* Sam. xii. 16, 17. f Deut. xi. 14 ; Jer. v. 24. 

J 1 Kings xviii. 44, 45. 



CLIMATE OF PALESTINE. 135 

to June, when the current shifts to the north, after which, until the 
north-west wind again sets in at the equinox, light airs prevail, 
shifting daily round the points of the compass with the sun. On 
the coast during this period a slight land breeze is felt. 

In winter, thunder and lightning accompanying the rains are 
frequent, and always come from the direction of the sea. Dr. Rob- 
inson records a thunderstorm with heavy showers as late as May, 
but remarks it as a very unusual phenomenon near Jerusalem, 
though common in the regions of Lebanon. Snow falls sometimes 
in considerable quantities during January and February, but does 
not usually lie long on the ground even on the elevated table land, 
while in the Jordan valley it scarcely rests at all. The winter cold 
is not severe, the mean monthly temperature at Jerusalem, during 
January and December, being 47° 4' Fahr., while that of London 
is 37° 3'; and the ground is never frozen, though a thin ice some- 
times forms on standing water. 

The average heat of the warmest month, July,*is 77° 3', that of 
London being 64°. The heat is, therefore, never unendurable except 
when the sultry sirocco renders the atmosphere oppressive. Such an 
occurrence we find referred to in Luke, " when ye see the south 
wind blow ye say there will be heat, and it cometh to pass." * In 
the dry season a copious dew falls frequently during the night, that 
" dew of heaven from above " promised to Jacob, which cools and 
refreshes the air, but towards the end of the summer the whole face 
of the country becomes burned up and withered. " The total absence 
of rain soon destroys the verdure of the fields, and gives to the 
whole landscape the aspect of drought and barrenness. The only 
green thing which remains is the foliage of the scattered fruit-trees, 
and occasional vineyards and fields of millet. The deep green of 
the broad fig-leaves and the millet is delightful to the eye in the 
midst of the general aridness, while the foliage of the olive, with 
its dull-grayish hue, scarcely deserves the name of verdure." 

u In autumn the whole land has become dry and parched, the 
cisterns are nearly empty, the few streams and fountains fail, and all 
nature, physical and animal, looks forward with longing to the return 
of the rainy season. Mists and clouds begin to make their appear- 
ance, and showers occasionally to fall; the husbandman sows his 
seed, and the thirsty earth is soon drenched with an abundance of 
rain." f 

The above remarks apply to the country generally, but there is 
probably no portion of the earth's surface of the same extent in 
which greater variations of climate can be found. The coast plain, 
the table land, and the Jordan valley, differ from each other more 
than countries separated by several degrees of latitude, owing to the 

* Luke xii. 54. t Robinson, ii. 100. 



136 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

vast difference in their situation as regards the sea level. In tracing 
the comparatively short course of the Jordan from the Dead Sea 
along the valley to the Lake of G-ennesareth, Lake Huleh, and its 
utmost sources in Lebanon, or even in crossing the country from 
east to west, the traveller passes in a few days through zones and 
climates, and observes varieties of plants, which are in other coun- 
tries separated by hundreds of miles. Lynch, by his careful survey, 
found the difference of level, in other words the depression, of the 
surface of the Dead Sea below that of the Mediterranean to be a 
little over 1,300 feet. The height of Jerusalem above the former 
sea is very nearly three times that of this difference of level, or 
3,900 feet. Allowing 13° of temperature for this difference of 
level, and assuming the summer heat at Jerusalem at 71°, we would 
conclude that the average summer heat must in the valley exceed 
84° Fahrenheit. In this deep depression, therefore, we find a cli- 
mate and productions almost tropical. Jericho was once termed 
" the city of palm-trees," and dates are said to still ripen there 
earlier than in Egypt — a result rendered highly probable by the fact 
that we cannot estimate the mean annual temperature at less than 
75°, that of Cairo being only 72°, while the ripening summer heat 
attains the enormous average of 84°. 

Along the coast plain the climate is more equable than on the 
table lands, both from its moderate elevation and its proximity to the 
sea. Observations, made at Beirut, give a mean annual temperature 
of 69° 33' ) but the summer heat is moderate, and the winter ex- 
ceedingly mild, the lowest monthly temperature averaging 54° ; so 
that delicate plants and trees, such as the orange and banana, flourish 
through the year in the open air, and the eye of the traveller is de- 
lighted with the appearance of luxuriant flowers and fruits, while 
above his head tower the snow-clad heights of Lebanon. 

In the Talmud, the year is divided into six seasons, instead of, as 
ordinarily, into four ; and this arrangement seems to have been made 
with a design of conforming to the words of the promise — " While 
the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and 
summer and winter, shall not cease."* There seems, however, no 
foundation for such subdivisions, nor would it be easy to suit them 
to the present annual changes of season. The following periods have 
been suggested as those which would approximate most nearly to 
this sixfold division : — 

Seed-time — 15th October to 15th December. 

Winter — 15th December to 15th February. 

Cold— 15th February to 15th April. 

Harvest — 15th April to 15th June. 

Heat — 15th June to 15th August. 

Summer — 15th August to 15th October. 

* Gen. viii. 22. 



VEGETATION OF PALESTINE. 137 

The crops ripen with great rapidity, forced on by the heat subse- 
quent to the moisture of winter and spring. The wheat harvest 
begins in the Jordan valley early in May, the barley having preceded 
it by about a fortnight. It is some weeks later in the plains along 
the coast and Esdraelon, and commences about Hebron and Jerusa- 
lem in June ; the principal fruit month is August ; and the vintage 
is general, and ploughing and sowing the new crops begin in October. 

II. Plants. 

From the wide and productive range of climate which has been 
described in the preceding section, a great variety and abundance 
must result in the products of the vegetable kingdom ) and it would 
appear from the concurrent testimony of nearly all travellers who 
have traversed the country, that the natural capabilities of the soil, 
were human care and skill applied to their development, are sufficient 
to yield to the inhabitants a plentiful supply of the luxuries as well 
as necessaries of life. The fertile land has, indeed, in many parts 
become a wilderness, and the bare rock, denuded of its covering of 
soil, stands forth in blinding and sterile whiteness, without tree or 
grass or even weed to relieve the aspect of barrenness. Yet this 
same rock, from its friable nature, when terraced into gardens and 
properly irrigated, yields, as we find in Lebanon, the most luxuriant 
crops; and in the ruined terrace, the broken aqueduct, the dried-up 
reservoirs, — even in the corn which grows wild on the deserted 
plains, — imagination can recal the period when, under the blessing 
of the Almighty, the land inhabited by His people was as the garden 
of the Lord, " a good land ; a land of brooks of water, of fountains 
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat and 
barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive 
and honey ; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness ; 
thou shalt not lack anything in it."* 

Cereals. — Beginning with the cultivated plants, we find that the 
cereals embrace wheat, barley, millet, dhurra, and rice. Of these 
wheat is cultivated generally from the low banks of the Dead Sea 
(where a patch of it was observed by Lynch), northwards to Syria, 
along the valley where the banks of the Jordan, when cultivated, 
yield luxuriant crops, on the table land even to its culminating point 
at Hebron, and on the plains. When proper attention has been 
paid to its culture, the produce is said to be considerable. The ordi- 
nary yield is valued by Burckhardt at twenty-five fold, and he men- 
tions one instance of an hundred-and-twenty-fold produce. This 
serves to explain the expression in the parable of the sower, " others 
fell into good ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold ? 
some sixty-fold, and some thirty-fold." A composite, bearded spe- 

* Deut. viii. 7—9. 
12 # 



138 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

cies is still occasionally cultivated, which forms a head three times as 
large as any European kind ; and by Pliny the Syrian wheat was 
ranked next to that of Egypt. Barley, which with chopped straw 
formed the " provender " of cattle, and millet, are not confined to 
any particular district, though the latter seems peculiarly cultivated 
on the plain of Esdraelon, where its straw is used for roofing houses. 
Dhurra, in its three varieties, the common, the summer, and the 
autumnal, is extensively sown on the lower grounds, and maize in 
some districts. Rice is confined to the marshy grounds in the neigh- 
bourhood of Lake Huleh and the upper part of the Jordan valley. 

Vegetables. — " Gardens of cucumbers " are as numerous and ex- 
tensive as they apparently were in the days of Solomon, and though 
watery and innutritious, form a favourite food of the present inhabi- 
tants ; they are peculiarly fine in the neighbourhood of Tiberias. 
Melons are raised in considerable quantities, especially about Jaffa 
and Tiberias, and are much prized through the whole country for 
their refreshing flavour. The gourd is grown, and pumpkins ; but 
it seems now ascertained that the word Kikayon is in Jonah impro- 
perly translated gourd. Cabbages, cauliflowers, and lettuce, are 
found in the gardens near towns. Onions, leeks, and garlic, of the 
plentiful production of which in Egypt, the Israelites, when in the 
wilderness, thought with longing, are grown everywhere and used in 
great quantities. The Egyptian and other kinds of beans, peas, and 
lentiles, are raised abundantly. Amongst the pot-herbs might be 
enumerated thyme, sage, rosemary, rue, mint, anise, cummin, fennel, 
hyssop, and parsley. 

Fruit trees. — Of fruit-bearing trees at present cultivated the most 
valuable and worthy of notice are the vine, fig, olive, and date; 
almond, mulberry, pomegranate, citron, apricot, and peach. 

Vine. — The hanging slopes of the hills of Palestine seems pecu- 
liarly adapted for bringing the grape to its greatest perfection. We 
find the plant mentioned in the earliest description as characteristic 
of the land; and it still flourishes luxuriantly in some districts, we 
learn from the accounts of the most recent travellers. In the valley 
of Eshcol, whence the spies brought " a branch with one cluster of 
grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff/' are still to be 
found vines of equal luxuriance, so much so that a single bunch 
often weighs ten or twelve pounds, and affords a meal to two or 
three persons. Though it was generally cultivated (except in the 
Jordan valley), its favourite locality was the mountains of Judah, in 
which Eshcol and Sorek were situated ; and so we find Jacob, in 
conferring a blessing on each of his sons, refer particularly to the 
vine in connection with Judah.* The vines were and are still grown, 
both cut down and spread along near the ground (which were the 

* Gen. xlix. 11. 



VEGETATION OF PALESTINE. 139 

best kinds), and tall, trained to trees or arbours, the latter of which, 
perhaps, are alluded to in the expression — " Every man under his 
vine and under his fig-tree."* At the present day, the Muhamma- 
dan religion forbidding the use of wine, the grapes are eaten while 
fresh or dried into raisins. In the district of Lebanon, the surplus 
is, by the Christians and Jews, made into a syrup, called u dibs," or 
into wine, which, however, is seldom kept to mellow, but is drunk 
while new. In Jewish times each vineyard seems to have had its 
own wine-press, tank, and small building for watching the fruit when 
Hear maturity, all of which are alluded to in that beautiful figure in 
Isaiah, where the nation is compared to a vineyard : — 

My beloved had a vineyard 

On a high and fruitful hill : 

And he fenced it round, and he cleared it from the stones, 

And he planted it with the vine of Sorek, 

And he built a tower in the midst of it, 

And he hewed out also a lake therein ; 

And he expected that it should bring forth grapes, 

But it brought forth poisonous berries. 

* * * ■* * 

But come now, and I will make known to you 
What I purpose to do to my vineyard : 
To remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; 
To destroy its fence, and it shall be trodden down ; 
And I will make it a desolation ; 
It shall not be pruned, neither shall it be digged ; 
But the briar and the thorn shall spiing up in it; 
And I will command the clouds 
That they shed no rain upon it.f 

Fig. — The fig-tree, with which we are familiar from garden speci- 
mens, attains in Palestine a considerable size, and yields in the year 
three successive crops. The first figs, called by the inhabitants 
" boceores," are usually ripe in June, and drop from the tree as soon 
as they arrive at maturity. This circumstance affords a beautiful 
type to the prophet Nahum : " All thy strongholds shall be like fig- 
trees with the first ripe figs ; if they be shaken they shall even fall 
into the mouth of the eater."J When these are nearly ripe, the 
summer fig begins to appear in little buttons ; this is called " Ker- 
mouse," and, when dried, forms the fig of commerce : it remains 
longer on the tree and is not gathered until August. Then there 
appears a third crop, or winter-fig, of a longer shape and darker 
colour; this remains even after the leaves are shed, and if the winter 
be mild, is gathered in full perfection in the spring. Two crops may 
therefore be seen on the tree at once, one near maturity, the other 
budding. It is a well-observed fact, that the fruit is formed before 

* 1 Kings iv. 25. f Isaiah v. (Bishop Lowth's Translation.) 

J Nahum iii. 12. 



140 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the leaves, so that the tree in leaf, upon which our Lord sought fruit 
and found none, must have been barren, or it would have had upon 
it some either of the early or winter figs. The shooting forth of this 
tree was a sign u that summer is now nigh at hand." 

Date. — The date-palm is an evergreen which requires a hot climate 
to bring it to perfection, consequently its cultivation could never have 
been general in Palestine. It is propagated chiefly from young shoots 
which spring from the roots, and these bear in the sixth or seventh 
year after they are transplanted, while plants raised from the date- 
stone require sixteen years before yielding fruit. It requires a moist, 
sandy and nitreous soil, and the Arabs surround the roots of the 
young trees with ashes and salt, carefully keeping from it any gross 
manure. It is of great vitality, arriving at perfection about thirty 
years after transplantation, and continuing to bear vigorously for 
seventy years after. Its produce declines after its hundredth year, 
and it falls about the end of its second century. The yield of fruit 
is considerable, a single tree bearing yearly from fifteen to twenty 
bunches, each weighing about the same number of pounds. It does 
not, at present, reach maturity, except in the neighbourhood of Jeri- 
cho, though found in other parts of the country. At Shechem, a 
few remain, and they must have existed near Jerusalem, for " the 
people took branches of palm, and went out to meet him/'* we are 
told in the account given by John, of our Lord's triumphal entry 
into that city. Its tall and stately stem, crowned with wide-spread- 
ing verdure, has made it in Eastern lands the symbol of victory, 
while to the parched wanderer in the desert it conveys the delightful 
assurance that water is near. Shaw says, " Several parts of the Holy 
Land, no less than Idumea that lay contiguous to it, are described 
by the ancients to abound with date-trees. Judea particularly is 
typified in several coins of Yespasian by a disconsolate woman sit- 
ting under a palm-tree. Upon the Greek coin likewise of his son 
Titus, struck upon a like occasion, we see a shield suspended upon a 
palm-tree with a Victory writing upon it : the same tree upon a 
medal of Domitian is made an emblem of Neapolis, formerly She- 
chem, Naplosa as it is now called; as it is likewise of Sepphoris, 
Saffour, according to the present name, the metropolis of Galilee, 
upon one of Trajan's. It may be presumed, therefore, that the 
palm-tree was formerly very much cultivated in the Holy Land."')* 
This would account for the frequent allusions to it in the Scriptures, 
though there are in modern times so few of these trees remaining. 

Olive. — The culture of the olive, the emblem of peace and abund- 
ance, once so characteristic of the land, has almost ceased in many 
districts, yet it still yields a large and valuable supply of oil. It is 
mentioned in the Scriptures more frequently than any other tree, 

* John xii. 13. f Vol. ii. p. 160. 



VEGETATION OP PALESTINE. 141 

and its plentiful growth is spoken of as one of the chief blessings of 
the land. The olive-tree is of the ash kind ; it seldom grows large 
in the trunk, but frequently reaches twenty or thirty feet in height, 
and is very much ramified. The flower is small and white, while the 
yellowish-green fruit, which turns black as it ripens, is too well 
known to require any description. This plant requires a bright and 
warm climate, and in the clear air of Palestine grows everywhere, 
though perhaps best upon the hills, in the mountains of Judah and 
Jerusalem, giving a name to that locality so deeply interesting to the 
Christian — the Mount of Olives. It possesses great longevity, and 
Schubert says nowhere did he see such ancient trees as in Palestine : 
indeed some have been credulous enough to assert that the trees still 
stand which existed in the time of our Lord. Age rather increases 
than diminishes t'he productive powers of the plants, so that the He- 
brews were promised, amongst other advantages, olive-trees which 
they had not planted ; that is, trees planted by the former inhabi- 
tants and already arrived at maturity. The value of the tree consists 
not so much in its fruit as in the oil which is expressed from it, and 
which entered so largely into the domestic consumption and religious 
services of the Jews. The extent of culture and produce must have 
been enormous when Solomon could undertake to supply 300,000 
gallons in a year to Hiram and the workman in Lebanon. The best 
oil is obtained from the fruit before it is quite ripe : the yield of 
ripe olives is more abundant, but of inferior quality. The harvest 
takes place in August, and the first-fruits were offered at the feast 
of Tabernacles, the fifteenth day of the seventh month.* The dark, 
sombre green of this tree gives a gloomy appearance to the districts 
in which it is cultivated — a fact which has been observed in the olive 
gardens of Provence as well as those of Palestine. 

The other fruit-trees require a less extended notice. The Apricot 
and Citron grow chiefly along the coast-plain. The Peach and Al- 
mond are general, and the appearance of the latter, with its delicate 
bloom on the winter stem — " the silvery almond flower that blooms 
on a leafless bough " — renders it a delightful object after the cold of 
winter. Of this tree was Aaron's rod that " brought forth buds and 
bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds." Its produce formed part 
of the present sent by Jacob into Egypt — where it does not flourish 
— and representations of it form part of the ornaments of the Tem- 
ple. From its white blossoms in winter (January) the head of an 
aged man is said to " flourish like the almond free." Its growth is 
not confined to any particular locality. 

The Pomegranate was prized both for the beauty of its flower and 
delicacy of its fruit, from which a favourite confection was made. It 
has been cultivated in the East from the earliest time : specimens of 

* Num. xviii. 12. 



142 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

it were brought back by the spies to Kadesh. It was much valued 
by the Jews, and is frequently alluded to in the Scriptures. The 
shape of its fruit formed an ornament both for the dresses of the 
priest and in the Temple. In the neighbourhood of Hebron, Dr. 
Robinson describes its blossoms, mingled with the peach and almond, 
as giving a delightful appearance to the whole country; it is not, 
however, confined to this locality, but is cultivated extensively through 
both Syria and Palestine. The white mulberry is an object of cul- 
ture to a great extent in Lebanon, where the silkworms it supports 
form the wealth of the Druses; but both it and the dark species 
are found in most districts. The Sugar-Cane was extensively cul- 
tivated during the Saracenic period ; and. Dr. Wilson found a few 
specimens of it growing wild on the banks of the Jordan, but it is 
not now grown in any part of the country. The celebrated " balm 
of Jericho " is yielded by the berries of a plant called the Zukkum 
— known under the various English names of Jericho plum, Jerusa- 
lem willow, oleaster, and wild olive — which is probably the myroba- 
lanum celebrated by Josephus. It is a thorny shrub with a smooth 
green bark, the fruit is somewhat like a small date, but of an olive- 
green colour ; the leaves are thin, long, and oval, and of a brighter 
green than the bark or fruit. 

Cotton is grown in some districts to a considerable extent, and 
that of Palestine is considered superior to the Syrian. In the neigh- 
bourhood of Nain and Shechem the fields of this plant are numerous. 
Flax, which, from the frequent mention of it in the Scriptures, we 
must conclude was extensively cultivated by the Jews, is at present 
scarcely to be found, and the quantity of Hemp is very small. To- 
bacco is grown in all the low districts ; and in Syria, where it receives 
more attention, it is of a superior kind. The wild flowers of Pales- 
tine are peculiarly beautiful, but a particular enumeration of them 
does not enter into the plan of the present work. The wilderness 
really blossoms like the rose. The plains are covered in spring with 
the pink, anemone, ranunculus, crocus, tulip, and an infinite number 
of other exquisite flowers which form the pride of our gardens, but 
there " waste their sweetness on the desert air." 

Forest Trees and Shrubs. — These comprise the Cedar, Oak, Pine, 
Poplar, Walnut, Acacia, Juniper, Cypress, Oriental Plane, Syca- 
more, Oleander, Solanum, Tamarisk, Grharrah, Henna, White Thorn, 
and several prickly shrubs, including the Nubk and prickly pear. 

Cedar. — Of the trees above mentioned, the cedar is perhaps the 
most remarkable from the frequent allusions made to it, and the 
use to which its timber was applied. It is now so naturalized in this 
country, that a long description of its appearance is unnecessary. 
From the "cedars of Lebanon " having been so often alluded to in 
the Scriptures, the attention of travellers has been particularly 
directed to the solitary group which remains on these mountains, 



VEGETATION OF PALESTINE. 143 

and it is singular to observe the difference in their reports as to the 
size and number of the trees, and the value of the timber. With 
respect to the last point, indeed, we must conclude that the word cedar, 
" eres/ ; was used by the Hebrews as a general name, and that the 
more compact, fragrant, and durable timber used in the Temple and 
Solomon's house of cedars was obtained from the Juniper. Of the 
celebrated cedars of Lebanon, we shall insert the description of Dr. 
Wilson, as one of the most recent visitors : — " They stand on what 
may be called the shoulder of Lebanon, on a ground of varying level. 
They cover about three acres. The venerable patriarch trees, which 
have stood the blasts of thousands of winters, amount only to twelve, 
and these not standing close together in the same clump; but those 
of a secondary and still younger growth, as nearly as can be reck- 
oned, to three hundred and twenty-five. A person can walk easily 
round the whole grove in twenty minutes. The most curious instance 
of vegetable growth which we noticed in it, was that of two trees 
near its western side, stretching out their horizontal branches, and, 
after embracing, actually uniting, and sending up a common stem. 
We measured all the larger trees, one of which, at least, we found to 
be forty feet in circumference. An examination of the wood, which 
is remarkably compact and solid, and of a fine grain, and capable of 
being cut and carved into ornamental pieces of furniture, and delight- 
fully scented, has led several of the Edinburgh botanists and carpen- 
ters to dissent from the description of the tree given by Br. Lindley, 
who, doubtless judging of it from its degenerate specimens in Eng- 
land, calls it ' the icorthless, though magnificent cedar of Mount 
Lebanon/ It is called by the Arabic name of araz, the very name 
which, with the usual alteration of the vowel points, it bears in the 
Hebrew Scriptures. We read under the grove with the deepest in- 
terest, the allusions to' the Erez which are made in the Bible; and 
almost every one of them we thought applicable to the tree before 
us, even those in which it is represented as forming masts for 
ships, and beams and rafters for houses, while we were convinced 
that some of them are applicable to no other species of pine. t Be- 
hold/ says Ezekiel, c the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair 
branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature ; and 
his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, 
the deep set him up on high, with her rivers running about his plants, 
and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field, therefore 
his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs 
were multiplied, and his branches became long, because of the mul- 
titude of waters. When he shot forth, all the fowls of heaven made 
their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts 
of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all 
great nations/ The pre-eminence of stature, length of branch, and 
extent and beauty of shroud and shadow and covert here spoken of, 



144 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

are to be found in the cedar and not in the pines, — the same as those 
on our Scottish mountains, — or the cypresses or junipers, which are 
to be seen in abundance in Lebanon and other parts of Syria. In 
the whole range of Lebanon, there are only one or two more clumps 
of cedars, and these of no great extent, to be found in the present 
day." * 

Oak. — The oak of different species is found on both sides of the 
Jordan : under an oak Jacob buried Deborah, and in the periods of 
idolatry, sacrifices were offered under the same trees. Tabor, Car- 
mel, and others of the western mountains, are covered with the 
dwarf species, but it is in the eastern district that they flourish best. 
Here a mingling of these trees with the arbutus is said to give to the 
face of the country an appearance somewhat similar to European 
scenery, and we find the oaks of Bashan particularly mentioned in 
the sacred writings. The species are principally the evergreen and 
prickly varieties. The English kind is never found, nor do any of 
these trees grow to the same size as in a colder climate. " The ven- 
erable oak (Siudian) to which we now came," says Dr. Robinson, 
in his description of Hebron, " is a splendid tree ; we hardly saw 
another like it in all Palestine, certainly not on this side of the plain 
of Esdraelon. Indeed, large trees are very rare in this quarter of 
the country. The trunk of this tree measures twenty-two and a 
half feet round the lower part. It separates almost immediately 
into three large boughs or trunks : and one of these again, higher 
up, into two. The branches extend from the trunk in one direction 
forty-nine feet, their whole diameter in the same direction being 
eighty-nine feet, and in the other, at right angles, eighty-three and 
a half feet. The tree is in a thrifty state, and the trunk sound. It 
stands alone in the midst of the field ; the ground beneath is covered 
with grass, and clean ; there is a well with water near by, so that a 
more beautiful spot for recreation could hardly be found." 

The Oleander grows along the streams, particularly those which 
flow westward into the Jordan and Dead Sea, and when in bloom 
the reflection of its beautiful red blossoms gives a rosy tint to the 
water. 

The Terebinth is often mentioned in the Scripture under the word 
which has been translated oak; it is supposed to be the "plain/' 
under the shade of which Abraham pitched his tent in Mamre. The 
best description of it is given by Dr. Robinson : — " Here in a broad 
valley at the intersection of the roads stands an immense Butm tree 
(Pistacia terebinthus), the largest we saw anywhere in Palestine, 
spreading its boughs far and wide like a noble oak. This species is 
without doubt the terebinth of the Old Testament; and under the 
shade of such a tree, Abraham might well have pitched his tent at 

* Vol. ii. p. 389. 



VEGETATION OF PALESTINE. 145 

Mamre. The Butm is not an evergreen, as it is often represented, 
but its small-feathered, lancet-shaped leaves fall in the autumn, and 
are renewed in spring. The flowers are small, and followed by 
small oval berries, hanging in clusters from two to five inches long, 
resembling much the clusters of the vine when the grapes are just 
set. From incisions in the trunk there is said to flow a sort of trans- 
parent balsam, constituting a very pure and fine species of turpen- 
tine, with an agreeable odour like citron or jessamine, and a mild 
taste, and hardening gradually into a transparent gum. In Palestine 
nothing seems to be known of this product of the Butm. The tree 
is found also in Asia Minor (many of them near Smyrna), Greece, 
Italy, the south of France, Spain, and in the north of Africa, and 
is described as not usually rising to the height of more than 
twenty feet. It often exceeded that size as we saw it on the moun- 
tains, but here in the plains it was very much larger." * 

Sycamore trees appear to have been numerous and admired by 
the inhabitants for the grateful shade which they afforded when in 
leaf. They are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, and 
once in the New, when Zaccheus is said to have " climbed into a 
sycamore tree to see him."")" This was in the neighbourhood of 
Jericho, where, however, at present not a single tree of this species 
is to be found. The sycamine tree alluded to in Luke, though often 
thought to be identical with the above, is in reality the dark mul- 
berry, which the Greeks called by this name. The Acacia exists 
in several varieties, and was valuable both for its timber, which is 
supposed to be the Shittim wood so often spoken of, and for the val- 
uable gum which exudes from it — the well-known gum-arabic of 
commerce. The Israelites must have become well acquainted with 
the properties of this tree in the desert of Arabia, before entering 
into the land of Canaan. The other kinds of tree which we have 
enumerated are either very rare, such as the Plane, or confined to 
some particular locality, as the Cypress, along the coast, and even 
there chiefly as a cultivated tree in cemeteries and gardens, the Pine, 
in Lebanon, &c, and do not require particular description. 

Shrubs. — Some of the shrubs are very remarkable for the curious 
properties which they exhibit. A tamarisk, called by the Arabs 
" turfa," yields the manna which has obtained its name from the 
food miraculously supplied to the Israelites, and was by some con- 
sidered identical with it. It is a small shrub, and the gum is found 
on the twigs and brances in little shining drops, in great abundance 
after a wet season. It is collected in June by the Arabs, and 
esteemed by them a great luxury ; it has a sweetish taste, and melts 
when exposed to the sun or fire. The greatest quantity collected in 
any one year is estimated at not more than TOOlbs. 

* Vol. iii. 15. f Luke ix. 4. 

13 



146 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

The Gharrab, common in the plains of Jericho, yields a saccha- 
rine matter similar to honey, and is used in the same way. There 
seems little doubt that this is the wild honey so frequently men- 
tioned, and which supplied food to John the Baptist in the wilderness. 

A species of Solarium yields the celebrated " apples of Sodom/' 
After mentioning the plant called by the Arabs "Asher," which 
bears a fruit of a yellowish colour, like an apple or orange in size 
and form, and which Dr. Robinson and Seetzen thought to be the 
plant which yields the apples, Dr. Wilson proceeds : — " Another 
shrubby plant, from about three to five feet in height, and bearing 
a round, yellowish berry, varying from about an inch to an inch 
and a half in diameter, particularly attracted our attention, from its 
great abundance. An Arab, who observed us handling the fruit of 
it, informed us that it is known by the name of the ' Lumun I/tit/ 
On our asking him the reason of the designation, he said the plant 
formerly bore excellent limes ; but, for the wickedness of the people 
of the plain, it was cursed by Lot, and doomed to bear the bitter 
fruit which it now yields. On our learning from him, and our other 
attendants, that no other fruit passes by a similar name in the plain, 
we came to the conclusion, that, as far as the present native belief 
indicates, we had before us the most noted species of the fruits 

Which grew 
Near that bituminous lake where Sodom stood. 

It proved to be a species of the solanum. Hasselquist, the pupil 
of Linnaeus, who travelled in the Holy Land, calls the berries 
"poma sodomitica, or mad-apples." " They are the fruit," he says, 
et of the Solanum Melongena Linnsei, by other authorities called 
mala insana ; these I found in plenty about Jericho, in the vales 
near Jordan, not far from the Dead Sea. It is true they are some- 
times filled with a dust, but this is not always the case, but only 
when the fruit is attacked by an insect (tenthredo), which turns all 
the inside into dust, leaving the skin only entire and of a beautiful 
colour." This plant we are inclined, with Hasselquist, to consider 
the apple of Sodom. It is " the vine of Sodom " that is referred to 
in Scripture as an emblem of the enemy of the Lord's people. It 
is a curious fact that one of the names of a species of Solanum 
{Solanum Incanum), allied to that which I refer to, is among the 
Arabs, that of the ' Aneb-edh-Dhib, or "Grape of the Wolf." 
Lynch, however, adheres to the opinion of Robinson, that the fruit 
was yielded by a plant called by the Arabs oscher, or osher. 

" Spina Christi." — Amongst the thorns, which are very numer- 
ous and of different characters and appearance, it is not possible to 
fix with certainty what particular kind was used to form the " crown 
of thorns." The word acantha used in the Scriptures is the general 
term for all species. Hasselquist, however, says of that called 



ANIMALS .OF PALESTINE. 147 

Zezyplius spina Christi, u in all probability this is the tree which 
afforded the crown of thorns put upon the head of Christ. It is 
very common in the East. This plant is very fit for the purpose, 
for it has many small and sharp spines, which are well adapted to 
give pain ; the crown might easily be made of these soft, round, 
and pliant branches; and what in my opinion seems to be the greater 
proof is, that the leaves very much resemble those of ivy, as they 
are of a very deep glossy green. Perhaps the enemies of Christ 
would have a plant somewhat resembling that with which emperors 
and generals are crowned, that there might be a calumny even in* 
the punishment." 

III. Animals, 

The animals of Palestine are of species so well known from the 
descriptions of all books on natural history, that we may compress 
our remarks upon them into a very brief compass. 

Domestic. — Sheep and goats now, as in the patriarchal times, 
form the great pastoral wealth of the people. Black cattle are very 
few, though we have every reason to suppose that they were 
numerous, especially in Bashan and Gilead, and generally amongst 
the tribes east of the Jordan, where a fertile district afforded 
abundant pasture. They are used generally through the country 
for draught under wagons and at the plough, and for treading-out 
the corn. A man's wealth is often estimated by the number of 
yokes of oxen he possesses. The enormous number sacrificed by 
Solomon, at the dedication of the Temple, and the numbers which 
used to be annually sacrificed, if we may believe the account of Jose- 
phus, at the great Jewish festivals, show the extent to which they 
were reared by the people of Israel in former times. Naturalists 
are of opinion that the " wild bulls " of Bashan were of the domestic 
species, but allowed to roam at large in this well-watered district, 
and so unaccustomed to the appearance of man, and consequently 
suspicious and often dangerous. There are many precepts in the law, 
which order a kind and merciful treatment of these useful animals 
when employed in agricultural labour. The horse, the camel, the 
mule, and the ass, were employed as beasts of burden; the last 
particularly is often spoken of as used for the saddle, being well 
adapted to the mountainous character of the country. Without en- 
tering upon any description of these familiar animals, we will pass on 
to those which, from their singularity or doubt as to their identifica- 
tion, are subjects of greater interest to the Biblical student. 

Wild. — The larger kinds of wild animals at present found in the 
country are bears, leopards, wolves, jackals, wild boars, hyaenas and 
foxes. 

The lion is frequently mentioned by the Jewish writers, and such 
an intimate knowledge is shown of the character and habits of the 



148 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

king of beasts, that we must conclude that during the whole time 
the Israelites occupied the land, the thickets and woods afforded 
shelter to numbers of these animals. They have, however, com- 
pletely disappeared from the whole district, since -the period of its 
conquest by the Romans; a fact which some writers account for by 
the eagerness with which they were captured by this people, for 
their sanguinary public shows. The bear still lurks in the recesses 
of Lebanon, and was apparently more numerous in the times of the 
Crusades ; it is of a dull-buff or bay colour, sometimes clouded with 
dark-brown. Its appearance is very rare, so that few travellers have 
had an opportunity of describing it. 

The leopard, once common in Palestine, has disappeared, except 
in the wooded heights of Lebanon, though many travellers have 
spoken of having seen or observed traces of some animal of the 
feline species, in several distant quarters. Lynch speaks of tracks 
of a tiger, panther, and hyaena, near the Dead Sea ; Burckhardt of 
an ounce on Mount Tabor, &c. A similar difficulty exists with 
regard to the ivolf: some fancy that the word so translated in our 
version means hyaena ; but it is certain that an animal of the wolf 
tribe is comparatively common through the country, being men- 
tioned by so many travellers, and it is most probably identical with 
the Syrian wolf. 

All these animals are mentioned in that exquisite picture which 
the prophet gives of the peaceful influences of Christianity. " The 
wolf, also, shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling 
together, and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the 
bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together, and the 
lion shall eat straw like the ox/'* 

The wild boar is found in many districts, chiefly frequenting the 
neighbourhood of marshes or water; they appear to be most numer- 
ous north of Lake Huleh and on Mount Tabor. The destruction 
which they cause in vineyards, both by devouring and trampling 
upon tbe grapes, is very great; thus in Psalm lxxv. 13, speaking 
under the type of a vineyard, we find " The boar out of the wood 
doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it." They 
are sometimes killed by the peasantry, and brought for sale to the 
towns in which Franks reside. " Four young wild boars," Lynch 
says, " were brought in by an Arab ; they escaped from him and 
ran to the sea, but were caught, and because we would not buy them 
they were killed ;" their flesh being considered unclean by the 
Muhammadans, who say that Mahomet converted all animals except 
the hog and the dog. 

The gazelle abounds in the Syrian desert, and is not uncommon 

* Isaiah xi. 6, 7. 



ANIMALS OF PALESTINE. 149 

in Palestine. There are most probably four or five species of it ; 
but the Hebrew name " tsebi," and the Greek " dorcas," were used 
to include the whole group. Its graceful shape and lustrous eyes 
form frequent subjects of allusion to the eastern poets; and it is 
probable that this is the animal which is often referred to, where 
in our version of the Scriptures we find the " hind" which was the 
standard of Naphtali, the "wild roe," " Asahel was as light of foot 
as a wild roe,"* and similar expressions. The stag is not found 
in Palestine ; nor is there at present any trace of the leucoryx, the 
straight form of whose horns, which are situated close together, and 
sometimes appear but as one, is supposed to have given rise to the 
fabulous accounts of the unicorn. 

The wild goat is found in two varieties in the mountains of 
Sinai. 

Jackals are very numerous, and their dismal howlings during the 
night are heard through all parts of Palestine. They are gregarious, 
and like the wolves in other countries hunt in packs, and are nocturnal 
in their habits. Their ravages are usually confined to the poultry- 
yards, orchards, and vineyards, to which they are very mischievous, 
fattening on the ripe grapes. Their colour is a dirty yellow, with 
brown ears. From their being more numerous than foxes, especially 
in the neighbourhood of Jaffa and Gaza, Hasselquist supposes that 
these and not foxes were the animals of which Samson caught three 
hundred, and tied firebrands to their tails to destroy the corn of the 
Philistines. The fox is of the size and form of an English cur fox. 
It is solitary, and burrows in the earth ; this explains our Lord's 
allusion, " foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, 
but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." There are 
two species of 7iare, one similar to the European, the other smaller 
and found only in the desert. The jerboa is a small animal about 
the size of a rat, but bearing a remarkable resemblance to the kan- 
garoo in form and manner of progression, though it wants the pouch. 
Its hind legs are disproportionately long, and it advances by springs, 
using the tail extended horizontally as a counterpoise. If deprived 
of this appendage, the animal loses the power of springing. These 
animals are gregarious, and burrow in the ground, and in some places 
in the desert the excavations made by them form pitfalls dangerous 
to travellers on horses or camels. The wubar is a very singular 
animal, for though of somewhat the appearance and size of a rabbit, 
it belongs to the family of pachyderm ata, and so must be classed 
with the rhinoceros and tapir. It has been identified with the cony 
of Scripture. After having been sought for in vain by Schubert 
and other naturalists within the limits of Palestine, though fre- 
quently observed in Arabia Petrea, Dr. Wilson was fortunate enough 

* 2 Sam. ii. 18. 
13* 



150 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

to notice it near the convent of Mar Saba, and a specimen was after- 
wards obtained by the Rev. H. Herschell. It has no tail, and its 
fore-feet are soft like those of the hedgehog. Its nest was a hole 
in the rock, comfortably lined with moss and feathers ; " the rocks/' 
are a refuge "for the conies (shaphans)" says the Psalmist; and 
again, Solomon says, " There be four things which are little upon 
the earth, but they are exceeding wise ; the conies are but a little 
folk, yet make they their houses in the rock/'* The common kinds 
of rat and mouse are very numerous, as well as the dormouse and 
several kinds of field-mice, of which the ravages are most destructive 
to the crops. Whole fields of grain are sometimes devastated by 
them, the most destructive kind being the short-tailed variety com- 
mon in this country, and in some years they have even caused a 
famine. Their numbers are so great in some districts, owing to the 
absence of winter frost, that a price is put on their heads to encou- 
rage the peasants to destroy them. 

The wild ass (onager), though rarely found, seems still to exist, 
west of the Euphrates ; indeed, Burckhardt says, " it is commoD in 
Arabia Petrea." It is a very beautiful animal, of great swiftness 
and endurance, approaching more in shape to the horse than to the 
common ass. It is of a silvery gray colour, with a brown stripe, 
extending along the back, crossed at the shoulders by a shorter band 
of the same colour. So frequently is it alluded to in the Scriptures, 
that the notices there given are almost sufficient to describe the 
natural history of the animal. Its habitation in the desert, its 
un tameable wildness, and freedom and rapidity of motion, are all 
spoken of in various passages. The description in Job is very 
striking : — 

Who hath sent forth the wild ass free ? 

Or the bands of the wild ass who hath loosed ? 

Whose house I have made the wilderness, 

And the barren land his dwelling, 

He scorneth the multitude of the city ; 

To the cry of the driver he attendeth not. 

The range of the mountain is his pasture, 

And he seeketh after every green thing. 

Birds.- — " In no region in which we had before travelled," says 
Dr. Wilson, " had we seen so few of the feathered race as in the 
Holy Land •" and to the country generally, in the view of its deso- 
lations, the language of the prophet may be strictly applied : — " How 
long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for 
the wickedness of them that dwell therein ; the beasts are consumed, 
and the birds; because they said He shall not see our last end." 
However few in numbers they may be, several species have been 

* Prov. xxx. 24—26. 



ANIMALS OF PALESTINE. 



151 



enumerated and described ; but as they are all kinds well known to 
the naturalist, we shall rest satisfied with giving a list of the most 
remarkable of them under their Scriptural names, with the species 
wherever ascertained. They are thus classified in the writings of 

Moses : — 





Birds of 


the Air. 




Name. 
Eagle 
Ossifrage 
Ospray 


Probable Species. 
Eagle. 
Vulture. 
Black Eagle. 


Name. 
Vulture 
Kite 
Raven 


Probable Species. 
Hawk. 
Kite. 
Raven. 




Land Birds. 




Owl 

Night-hawk 


Ostrich. 
Night-owl. 


Cuckoo 
Hawk 


Saf-saf. 
Ancient -Ibis. 




Water Birds. 




Little Owl 
Cormorant 
Great Owl 
Swan 
Pelican 


Seagull. 
Cormorant. 
Ibis Ardea. 
Wild-goose. 
Pelican. 


Gier Eagle 
Stork 
Heron 
Lapwing 


Alcyone. 
Stork. 
Long-neck. 
Hoopoe. 



Singing birds are not uncommon, the nightingale being frequently 
heard even in the death-like neighbourhood of the Dead Sea, where 
its melancholy note harmonizes with the dreariness of the scene; 
while the goldfinch frequents the groves near Tiberias, and the black- 
bird was heard by Lord Lindsay in the Haouran. 

Partridges are in the season very numerous in the south country; 
and naturalists are now of opinion that these were the quails with 
which the Israelites were fed in the wilderness. 

Reptiles. — Calmet enumerates no less than eleven kinds of ser- 
pents known to the Israelites :— 



1. Ephe, the viper. 

2. Chephir, a sort of aspick. 

3. Acshub, the aspick. 

4. Pethen, a similar reptile. 

5. Tzeboa, speckled serpent. 

6. Tzimmaon. 



7. Tzepho, or Tzephoni, a basilisk. 

8. Kippos, the acontias. 

9. Shephiphon, the cerastes. 

10. Shakcal, the black serpent. 

11. Saraph, a flying serpent. 



With the exception, however, of the scorpion, whose bite is not 
fatal, no venomous animals are at present observed in Palestine ; and 
nothing beyond conjecture can be said to be known of the various 
kinds mentioned in the Bible. 

South of Judea, in the desert through which the Israelites ad- 
vanced, Burckhardt says that venomous serpents were numerous; 
and the "fiery serpents" which the Lord sent as a punishment, are 
supposed to be so called from the burning inflammation of their bite, 
and to be the Hai coluber of Linnaeus which is so much dreaded in 
Egypt. The adder appears to have meant the cerastes, or horned 



152 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

snake. House snakes are numerous but harmless, and both fresh- 
water and land tortoises, lizards, and cameleons, are frequently ob- 
served. Of insects, locusts and mosquitoes abound; the former, 
which sometimes devastate the whole district, are dried and used as 
food by the Arabs, particularly in seasons of scarcity. 

Inhabitants of Canaan. 

The country was inhabited by several warlike tribes ; who would 
firmly contest with them the right of the soil; but upon whom the 
curse of God rested, devoting them to utter destruction. 

These Canaanites were divided into several tribes, the precise 
locality of each is not in every case known, but the map exhibits 
the most probable arrangement. The Kenites, the Kenizzites, and 
the Kadmonites, occupied the country east of the Jordan (Gen. xv. 
18 — 21), and on the west of that river the Hittites, the Perizzites, 
the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwelt in the hill country of the 
south. The Philistines inhabited the southern part of the coast. 
The Canaanites — properly so called — occupied the central portion 
of the country, from the river Jordan to the sea-coast. The Girga- 
shites were spread along the eastern border of the lake of Gennesa- 
reth. The Hivites were situated among the southern branches of 
the Lebanon, and the Phoenicians on the northern part of the coast 
line. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Invasion of Canaan Proper, and Subsequent Events 

Siege or Jericho. 

b. c. 1451—1096. 

The Israelites passed miraculously over Jordan in the month of April, 
when the river is supposed to have been twelve hundred feet wide, 
and fourteen deep, and encamped at Grilgal, on the opposite plains 
of Jericho, to renew the ancient rite of circumcision. Here they ate 
of the old corn of the land, and the manna ceased. (Joshua v.) 

The miraculous overthrow of the walls of Jericho, and the utter 
extermination of the inhabitants, except Rahab, soon followed. 
(Joshua vi.) 

Joshua pronounced a fearful curse upon him who should rebuild 
the city ; which was executed, five hundred and twenty years after- 
wards, upon Hiel. (1 Kings xvi. 34.) 

Previously to this, and almost immediately after the death of 
Joshua, reference is made to it, under the name of the City of Palm- 
trees. (Judges iii. 13.) In the time of Elijah and Elisha it became 
a school of the prophets. (2 Kings ii. 4, 5.) 

At a short distance north-west, are two fountains, near each other, 
gushing from the earth, and yielding a stream of water sufficient to 
irrigate the whole plain. These waters are now sweet and whole- 
some. Whether their salubrity is the effect of that miracle or not, 
this was doubtless the scene of Elisha's miracle in the healing of the 
waters. (2 Kings ii. 21.) 

The messengers of David tarried here, after their insult by Hanun, 
until their beards were grown. (2 Sam. x. 5.) 

From the Babylonish captivity the inhabitants of this city returned 
again to it. (Ezra ii. 34.) Herod the Great built here a castle, in 
which he died. Jericho was once visited by our Lord, when he 
lodged with Zaccheus, and where he also healed two blind men. 
(Matt. xx. 29, 30 ; Luke xix. 1—10.) 

There is still a miserable hamlet of one or two hundred inhabi- 
tants, bearing the name of Rihah, but the site of the ancient city is 
supposed to be identified by some ruins two miles west of this, and 
near the road that comes down from Jerusalem. The city was some 
twenty miles east of Jerusalem. 

(153) 



154 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 



GlLGAL. 



No trace remains of the neighbouring city of Gilgal, where the 
Israelites made their first encampment in Canaan, and ate of the corn 
of the land, and ceased to be fed with the bread of heaven. We only 
know that Gilgal was east of Jericho, between that city and the Jor- 
dan. (Joshua iv. 19.) 

Here Joshua erected twelve stones, taken from the river, as a me- 
morial of their miraculous passage. Samuel offered sacrifices here, 
and, as is supposed, before the tabernacle of the Lord. (1 Sam. 
x. 8 ; xv. 21 — 33.) Here he also held his yearly court of justice. 
(1 Sam. vii. 16.) Saul was here recognised as king. Under Joram 
and Elisha, at a later poriod, there was a school of the prophets at 
Gilgal. In the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz, it was the seat 
of idolatrous worship, and the subject of execration by the prophets 
of the Lord. (Hosea iv. 15 ; ix. 15 ; xii. 11 ; Amos iv. 4, 5.) 

Dr. Hobinson offers no opinion respecting this locality. Von Schu- 
bert suDDOses it to have been near the present castle at Rihah. 

Capture of At. 

The conquest of Ai, by stratagem, soon followed (Joshua viii. 
1 — 30) ) a city of twelve hundred inhabitants, situated twelve miles 
north-west of Jericho, and three south-east of Bethel. 

The site of this ancient town is supposed by Dr. Hobinson to be 
indicated by a few excavated tombs, foundations of hewn stones, and 
reservoirs for water. It appears to have been again rebuilt, and, after 
the captivity, was inhabited by exiles who returned from Babylon. 
(Ezra ii. 28 ; Neh. vii. 32.) 

Shechem, or Sychar. 

After the overthrow of Ai, the Israelites proceeded, without oppo- 
sition, into the interior to Shechem, in Samaria, among the moun- 
tains of Ephraim; where, agreeably to Divine command (Deut. 
xxvii.), the law was engraved on the tables of stone, and set up on 
Ebal or Gerizim ; and the covenant solemnly renewed with Jehovah, 
their God and their King. (Josh. viii. 30 — 35.) 

This place is about forty miles north-north-west from Jericho, and 
nearly the same distance north of Jerusalem. From a few miles 
south of Shechem, runs north a continuous range of mountains, which 
fall abruptly down on the east to a narrow and fertile valley, from one 
to three miles in width, and eight or ten in length. In this valley are 
the plains of Moreh. (Gen. xii. 6.) 

Near the northern part of this plain, the mountains on the west 
are rent asunder, forming two high bluffs, separated by a narrow de- 
file, which, as it runs into the interior, turns to the south-west ; form- 



SHECHEM, OR SYCHAR. 155 

ing a sequestered glen of great beauty, where lies the ancient city of 
Shechem, the modern Nabulus. 

These opposite bluffs, which form the gateway to the valley within, 
are Ebal and Gerizim ; the former on the north, the latter on the south. 

" It was late in the afternoon/' says Mr. Stephens, " when I was 
moving up the valley of Nabulus. The mountains of Gerizim and 
Ebal, the mountains of blessings and curses, were towering like lofty 
walls on either side of me; Mount Gerizim fertile, and Mount Ebal 
barren,* as when God commanded Joshua to set up the stones in 
Mount Ebal, and pronounced on Mount Gerizim blessings upon the 
children of Israel, \ if they would hearken diligently unto the voice 
of the Lord, to observe and to do all his commandments' (Deut. 
xxviii. 1), and on Ebal the withering curses of disobedience. 

" A beautiful stream, in two or three places filling large reservoirs, 
was running through the valley. A shepherd sat on its bank, play- 
ing a reed pipe, with his flock feeding quietly around him. The 
shades of evening were gathering fast as I approached the town of 
Nabulus, the Shechem, or Sychem of the Old Testament, and the 
Sychar of the New."t 

In the whole world perhaps, a more appropriate situation could 
not be found for the great solemnity of publicly accepting the insti- 
tutions of the Lord God, the Lawgiver of Israel, than those twin 
mounts, Gerizim and Ebal. 

Here, on large stones, are written out the principles of their gov- 
ernment, their constitution, the charter of their rights, framed by the 
King of Heaven. Sacrifices are offered upon an altar built of unhewn 
stones upon Ebal. 

The ark, attended by the priests, stands in the valley between the 
two mountains ; while on each side are the thousands of Israel, from 
the chiefs, the judges, and the Levites, to the women, the children, 
and the stranger. All are there. Six tribes — Reuben, Gad, Asher, 
Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali — stand on the barren Ebal, to pro- 
nounce the curses of the Law upon the wrong-doer and the disobe- 
dient ; and six — Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benja- 
min — upon the verdant and beautiful Gerizim, to pronounce the bless- 
ings upon the well-doer and the obedient. And as each clause of the 
blessing and of the curse is pronounced, the whole assembled multi- 
tude on either mount raise to " heaven their loud Amen." So let 
it be ! (Deut. xxvii. 11—26.) 

By this solemn response they receive and ratify the law of the 
Lord their God, and invoke his curse upon him that confirmeth not 
all the words of this law, to do them. 

Abraham and Jacob dwelt in Shechem. Under an oak, in this 

* Other travellers have not noticed any peculiar sterility in this mountain 
above that of Gerizim. f Incidents of Travel, vol. ii. 239, 240. 



156 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

place, the latter patriarch buried the false gods of his family, as he 
removed to Bethel on his return from Padan-aram. 

Near by this city the brethren of Joseph were feeding their flocks 
when they sold him to the Midianites. 

Under Joshua, Shechem became a levitical city of refuge, and a 
centre of union to the several tribes. Here they buried the bones 
of Joseph. (Josh. xxiv. 32.) This is the scene of the incidents in 
the life of Jotham and the usurper Abimelech, who died by the 
hands of a woman at Thebaz, thirteen miles north-east of Shechem. 
(Judg. ix.) The city was consecrated by the visit of our Saviour, 
and his conversation with the woman of Samaria, at Jacob's well. 
(John iv.) It is particularly memorable in the history of the Kings 
as the seat of the revolt of the ten tribes under Rehoboam and Jero- 
boam. 

On Mount Gerizim, Sanballat built the temple of the Samaritans, 
where they claimed that men ought to pray, and not at Jerusalem. 
A little remnant of this sect still inhabit this city, and go up, as did 
their fathers two thousand years ago, to worship on this sacred 
Mount. 

Shechem is still a town of eight or ten thousand inhabitants. A 
mile east of the city is the sepulchre of Joseph, in the parcel of 
ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph ; and three hundred 
south-east is Jacob's well, a perpendicular shaft, of seventy-five feet 
in depth, and nine feet in diameter, sunk in the solid rock, and still 
containing water except in the dryest seasons of the year. 

Conquest of Gibeon. 

Gibeon, eight miles south-west of Ai, next becomes the scene of 
the historical narrative. This was one of the " royal cities/' larger 
and more powerful than Ai, having under its jurisdiction Cephirah, 
Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 

It was situated on an eminence, five miles north by west from Jeru- 
salem, and about the same distance south-west from Ai. Beeroth 
was three miles north of Gibeon, and Kirjath-jearim nearly the same 
distance south of this city. 

The situation of the other subordinate towns is not known. These 
cities, by stratagem, made a treaty with the Israelites, by which they 
were saved from destruction, but were devoted to perpetual servitude. 
(Josh, ix.) 

Alarmed at the treaty of the Gibeonites, the principal kings of all 
the southern parts of Palestine, under Adonizedek, king of Jerusa- 
lem, entered into a confederacy for mutual defence against their in- 
vaders. They brought their united forces against the Gibeonites, 
who appealed to Joshua, their ally, for defence. This brought him 
into immediate conflict with the confederate army before Gibeon. 

The result of the battle was a total discomfiture of the allies. To 



BETH-HORON. 157 

enable Joshua to complete the victory, the sun, at his command, 
" stood still on Gibeon in the midst of heaven ; and the moon in the 
valley of Ajalon ; and hasted not to go down about a whole day." 
(Josh. x. 12, 13.) 

Gribeon afterwards became a levitical city of the tribe of Benjamin. 
Under David and Solomon, the heights of Gribeon were the appointed 
place of prayer, where, for many years, the Tabernacle was set up 
(1 Chron. xvi. 37 — 39), the ark of the covenant being at Jerusalem. 
(2 Chron. i. 3, 4.) It was here that Solomon, after offering a thou- 
sand burnt offerings, enjoyed the vision of God, and received the 
promise of wisdom above all men. (1 Kings iii. 5 — 15 ; 2 Chron. 
i. 3 — 13.) Here Abner, captain of Saul's host, was defeated by 
Joab, in a sore battle ; and Asahel, Joab's brother, slain. (2 Sam. 
ii. 19 — 32.) And here Amasa, a commander of Absalom's rebel 
army, was subsequently assassinated by Joab. (2 Sam. xx. 8 — 12.) 

This interesting locality was discovered by Dr. Robinson. It is 
situated five miles north of Jerusalem, on the summit of an isolated 
and oblong hill which rises out of a beautiful and fertile plain, form- 
ing a very strong position for a town. The houses rise irregularly 
one above another, and consist chiefly of rooms which still remain in 
ancient ruins. One dilapidated tower is yet standing, built of large 
stones, containing vaulted rooms with round arches, and having the 
appearance of great antiquity. 

Just below the summit of the ridge, on the north side, is a fine 
fountain of water, in a cave having a large subterranean reservoir cut 
out of the rock; a little lower down, among some olive trees, is an 
open reservoir a hundred and twenty feet in length by a hundred in 
breadth. This is probably the "Pool of Gibeon," mentioned in the 
story of Abner (2 Sam. ii. 13), and the "great (or many) waters in 
Gibeon/' spoken of in Jeremiah. (Jer. xli. 12.) 

Beth-Horon. 

Beth-horon was on the north-west border of Benjamin, about 
twelve miles north-west from Jerusalem. Upper Beth-horon was 
built on a high headland, which juts out westward from the moun- 
tains of Ephraim, like a promontory, between the valleys of Gibeon 
and Beeroth, which at the base unite and form the commencement 
of the valley of Ajalon, leading off to the broad western plain. 
Lower Beth-horon was at the junction of these valleys, at the foot of 
the mountain. 

Near Upper Beth-horon, on the summit where one looks away 
eastward to Gibeon, Joshua must have stood when he called out to 
the sun, yet rising over Gibeon, and to the moon, just settling down 
over the western valley of Ajalon. " Sun, stand thou still upon 
Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon. ") Josh. x. 12.) 

Beth-horon afterwards became a levitical city. Both upper and 
14 



158 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

nether Beth-boron were fortified by Solomon (1 Kings ix. 17 ; 
2 Chron. viii. 5), and ruins of strong fortifications are still found in 
both places. Judas Maccabeus here defeated; with a small band, the 
host of the Syrians. (1 Mac. iii. 15.) 

Conquest of Southern Canaan. 

The routed army first fled north-west to Beth-horon, ^.ve miles 
from Ajalon. On this route they were smitten by hailstones, by 
which more died than by the hand of the Israelites. (Josh. x. 11.) 
From hence they fled south through Azekah, eight miles, to Makke- 
dah, six miles further south by east. This is said by Eusebius and 
Jerome to be a little north-west of Hebron. The entire distance of 
this circuitous route may have been twenty miles. 

The pursuit was soon renewed by Joshua, who put to death the 
five kings, who hid themselves in a cave there. By this signal vic- 
tory, he obtained a conquest over Jerusalem and Hebron, together 
with Lachish, Eglon, and Jarmuth. The latter city was twelve miles 
south-west from Jerusalem. Eglon was as much further in the same 
direction, near the borders of the Philistines. 

Lachish was still further south, a few miles south-west from He- 
bron. This afterwards became a city of importance. Amaziah, king 
of Judah, was pursued and slain here. (2 Kings xiv. 19 ; 2 Chron. 
xxv. 27.) Bab-shaken, the Assyrian, came up from this city against 
Jerusalem (2 Kings xviii. 14, 17), and Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, laid siege to it as one of the fenced cities of Judah. (Jer. 
xxxiv. 7.) 

Anab is another city enumerated in these conquests of Joshua. 
This Dr. Robinson discovered six miles south of Hebron, in the 
mountains of Judah. Seen at a distance, it was marked only by a 
small tower. The same traveller has the honour of having recov- 
ered several other towns in this neighbourhood, and thus bringing 
out a sure and delightful proof of the truth of sacred history. This 
history is now totally unknown to the inhabitants, and yet they 
retain to this day the names of these places, just as they were when 
frequented by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Samuel, and David. 

With reference to several of these ancient towns, Dr. Bobinson 
says : — u Here we found ourselves surrounded by the towns of the 
mountains of Judah; and could enumerate before us not less than 
nine places, still bearing apparently their ancient names, Maon, Car- 
mel, Zeph, and Juttah; Jattir, So-coh, Anab, and Estemoh; and 
Kiryath-arba, which is Hebron. (Josh. xv. 47 — 55.) The feel- 
ings with which we looked upon these ancient cities, most of which 
had hitherto remained unknown, were of themselves a sufficient 
reward for our whole journey. (Researches, ii. p. 195.) 

Joshua, in the course of a few months, swept his conquest over 
the whole of the south of Canaan, afterwards known as Judea, from 



CONQUEST OF CANAAN. 159 

Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and extending as far north in this country 
as to Jerusalem, which is here called Goshen (Josh. x. 41 ; xi. 16), 
and having completely subjugated the land, returned to the encamp- 
ment of his people at Gilgal. The other towns included in these 
conquests enumerated by Joshua (chap, xii.) are, for the most part, 
unknown in history. Beer-sheba and En-gede have been already 
mentioned. 

Conquest of the North of Canaan. 

Alarmed by these conquests at the south, the northern natives of 
Canaan entered into a more extensive and formidable confederacy 
for their mutual defence against these invaders. 

The head of this confederacy was Jabin, king of Hazor, near the 
waters of Merom (the Lake Huleh), in the northern part of Galilee ; 
assisted by the people of Dor, on the Mediterranean, between Csesarea 
and Mount Carmel, and by the people of Cinneroth, on the western 
shore of the sea of Tiberias. The other smaller tribes, who inhab- 
ited the whole extent between the Mediterranean and the valley of 
the Jordan, from the mountains of Lebanon on the north, to the 
parallel of Jerusalem on the south, joined in this dangerous con- 
federacy. 

These, who had not been subjugated in the southern conquest of 
Joshua, gathered together an immense army near the waters of 
Merom, in the north-eastern part of Palestine, under Jabin. 

Joshua, by Divine command, proceeded up the valley of the Jor- 
dan, and along the western shore of the Sea of Tiberias, to give 
them battle before their own camp. Over this allied army he gained 
a complete victory, and followed up his success by waging a war of 
extermination against the several cities and tribes which had joined 
in the confederacy. 

These northern conquests occupied considerable time. " Joshua 
made war a long time with all those kings/ ' Then followed a 
desultory war for some years against the gigantic highlanders, the 
Anakims, who continued to defend their strongholds in the moun- 
tains; but they were finally dispossessed of their fastness in the 
highlands, and with a few exceptions utterly exterminated. 

" And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims, from 
the mountains of Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the 
mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel : Joshua 
destroyed them utterly with their cities. There was none of the 
Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, 
in Gath, and in Ashdod, they remained." (Josh. xi. 21, 22.) 

Thus was the conquest of the land completed in five expeditions — 
1. Jericho; 2. Ai; 3. The kings of the south; 4. The kings of the 
north ; 5. The Anakims in the southern and northern highlands. 

" So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord 



160 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

said unto Moses ; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, 
according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested 
from war." (Josh. xi. 23.) 

This peace concluded a restless conflict of five or six years, in 
making the conquest of the country. 

Hazor. 

Some of the principal cities included in these conquests are enu- 
merated by Joshua, chap. xii. 17 — 24, but the situation of most of 
them is unknown. On the summit of the mountain west of Huleh, 
overlooking the lake and plain, and commanding a vast range of 
country, there is an immense fortress which Mr. Thompson supposes 
may have been Hazor, the stronghold of the spirited chieftain who 
had the address to consolidate this formidable conspiracy against 
Joshua. 

Dr. Robinson, however, supposes that Hazor may have been a 
few miles further south on the same ridge of highlands. But the 
castle, which now bears the name of Hunin, is evidently an ancient 
locality, and deserves a notice in this connection. 

" This fortress is the most conspicuous object on the western 
mountains. It stands out in bold relief, from Banias, almost due 
west, and has been in full view during all our rides for the last two 
days. The castle is an oblong quadrangle, rounded at the south end, 
and is about nine hundred feet long, by three hundred wide. It 
overhangs the very brow of the precipice, which on the east side 
falls sheer down to a great depth, towards the plain. On the north 
and west sides it is protected by a trench hewn in the solid rock, 
forty feet wide and fifteen or twenty deep. 

" The southern and south-western parts are defended by six round 
towers and a double wall. There are also three round towers on the 
eastern wall. The large area within was formerly covered with 
houses and magazines, and undermined by numerous cisterns. The 
village has no fountain, but depends entirely upon these cisterns ; 
and the water at this dry season is very scarce, and alive with ani- 
malculae. There is a fountain about a mile below the castle, near 
which I noticed foundations on ancient buildings. Probably the 
village was located there in former times. Insecurity has, however, 
obliged the people to settle around this feudal castle. The village 
is small, and inhabited by Metawileh. 

" Most of the works existing at present are quite modern ) pro- 
bably Saracenic or even Turkish. But the northern part bears 
undoubted marks of extreme antiquity. Ik is about three hundred 
feet square, and surrounded on all sides by a ditch hewn in the solid 
rock, as described above. A few specimens of the original wall are 
still to be seen, and show that the whole was constructed of large 
bevelled stones bound together by iron clamps, bearing a close 



HAZOR. 161 

resemblance to works of Jewish or Phoenician origin which I have 
seen at Jerusalem, and on the island Ruad, the ancient Aradus. 

u May not this old castle mark the sight of Hazor ? We know 
that Hazor was a city of Naphtali, somewhere in the neighbour- 
hood of Kedesh, Abel, and Ijon. (Josh. xix. 36 — 38 ; 2 Kings xv. 
29.) And if, as Josephus says, Hazor was on a high mountain 
above the Huleh, this site accords well with his account; for it 
occupies precisely such a position, commanding a noble view of the 
plain, marsh, and lake. It was, moreover, evidently built to com- 
mand the passage round the north-western border of the marsh. 

" There are three indications which seem to point out this place 
as being at least in the neighbourhood of Hazor. When Tiglath- 
Pileser attacked Pekah, king of Israel, he took Ijon, Abel, Kedesh, 
and Hazor. Now Ijon is Merj-Ayum ; and Abel is the modern 
Abil, directly north of Hunin ; and Kedesh lies not far south of it. 
Hazor, therefore, must be either Hunin itself, or some place near it. 
In Joshua also Kedesh and Hazor are coupled together as two feudal 
or walled cities given to Naphtali. (Josh. xix. 36, 37.) 

" This much then is certain, that Hazor was a walled city some- 
where in this vicinity ; and until it is further identified, Hunin may 
stand for its site. And this is countenanced by the earliest mention 
we have of Hazor. Jabin, king of Hazor, hearing that Joshua had 
conquered all the south of Palestine, gathered a vast army from a 
great many neighbouring cities, amongst which Hunin would be 
nearly the centre. With this host he took possession of the waters 
of Merom ; that is, as I suppose, of the narrow passage between the 
marshes of the Huleh and the mountain below this very Hunin, and 
near the great fountains of Derakit and El-Mellahah. 

"But Joshua fell upon them suddenly, overthrew and chased 
them to old Sidon, &c. (Josh. xi. 1, seq.) Being routed, the host 
would necessarily rush along the narrow tract between the marsh 
and the mountains, up the rising plain of Merj-Ayun, under Hunin, 
and passing by Abel would cross the Litani below Kulat Esh-Shukif, 
the only practicable point on the way to Sidon. From this ford, the 
road is direct and plain by Nebatiyeh, Habush, Deir Zahrany, 
Zifty (?), and the sea-shore, to Sidon. Joshua, having chased them 
to this city, turned back, the narration says, and took Hazor and 
burnt it with fire. 

" This was the only city that he burnt; and it is further said that 
Hazor was the head of all the surrounding kingdoms. The position 
of Hunin seems to meet all the intimation contained in this narra- 
tive. Subsequently we hear of this Hazor, of its being rebuilt and 
repeatedly conquered. Josephus says that in the days of Deborah 
this Hazor had to pay 300,000 footmen, 10,000 horsemen, and 3,000 
chariots ; a story quite beyond the ne plus of my credulity. Hazor 
being by far the most powerful and celebrated of all the cities in 
14* 



162 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

this region, it becomes a question of interest to determine its 
location. 

" Kedes, the ancient Kedesh Naphtali, lies on the same mountain 
ridge, a few miles further south. We regretted our inability to visit 
it. As the sun rose this morning, I ascended one of the eastern 
towers to take bearings, and enjoy another view of this magnificent 
prospect. The north-east corner of the lake itself bore south-south- 
east. And in the extreme distance south, a little west, the moun- 
tains towards the Dead Sea are visible. 

" Tell El-Kady is east a little north, and Banias in the same line. 
The summit of Mount Hermon bears north-east, and the highest 
peak of Lebanon, north a little east; while the verdant carpet of 
Coele-Syria lies spread out between the two. I envy not the man who 
can gaze on such a scene unmoved. Whatever is lovely in moun- 
tain, plain, marsh, and lake, is before the eye, and with surprising 
distinctness. 

"Old Jebel Esh-Sheikh, like a venerable Turk, with his head 
wrapped in a snowy turban, sits yonder on his throne in the sky, sur- 
veying with imperturbable dignity the fair lands below; and all 
around, east, west, north, south, mountain meets mountain to guard 
and gaze upon the lovely vale of the Huleh. What a constellation 
of venerable names ! Lebanon and Hermon, Bashan and Gilead, 
Moab and Judah, Samaria and Galilee ! 

" There, too, is the vast plain of Coele-Syria, Upper and Lower, 
studded with trees, clothed with flocks, and dotted with Arab tents ; 
and, there the charming Huleh, with its hundred streams glittering 
like silver lace on robes of green, and its thousand pools sparkling in 
the morning sun. Venerable and beautiful vale of the Huleh, fare- 
well !"* 

Megiddo. 

This place was on the south-western border of the great plain of 
Esdraelon; rebuilt and fortified by Solomon. (1 Kings ix. 15.) 
Ahaziah, king of Judah, fled hither when wounded by Jehu, and 
died. (2 Kings ix. 27.) Josiah also was slain near this place. 
(2 Kings xxiii. 29.) The mourning on this became proverbial for 
any similar sorrow : " Like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the 
valley of Megiddon." (Zech. xii. 11.) 

The ruins of this plain are found on the north side of a small 
hill, consisting of foundations for buildings, with prostrate pillars of 
granite and limestone. 

Taanack, of which mention is made in the triumphal song of 
Deborah (Judges v. 10), is still recognised four miles south of Me- 
giddo. 

* Thompson. 



BAAL-GAD, OR BAALBEK. 163 

"The waters of Megiddo" are probably a small stream noticed by 
Mr. Walcott, which springs from the hills above Megiddo. It is 
sufficient to feed three or four mills, and the largest rivulet in all 
the southern region of the great valley. 

Baal-Gad, now Baalbek. 

This town, which constituted the northern limits of the conquests 
of Joshua (Josh. xi. 17 ; xii. 7), was situated in the valley between 
Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon; and afterwards, in an age unknown, 
became the seat of stupendous structures for idolatrous worship, 
which remained in ruined, gloomy magnificence, the wonder of every 
age, and admiration of every beholder. 

These ruins have often been described. The following extracts in 
relation to them are from the pen of Dr. Wilson : — 

" The town of Baalbek is now almost a complete ruin, with the 
walls which surrounded it — of an irregular quadrangle in form — 
fallen in many places, and the inhabited abodes being of a most 
wretched character. Immense quantities of hewn stone and frag- 
ments of pillars, both of the common rock of the country, are strewn 
about in all directions. 

" The eye of the traveller, however, does not rest on their prostra- 
tion and confusion, and the filth with which they are associated. It 
sees, standing up in majesty amidst the apocryphal Saracenic and 
Turkish towers and wallsof the fort, the proudest and grandest me- 
morials of human architecture on which it has ever rested ; and it 
scans with wonder and astonishment the remains of the temples — 
and their courts and colonnades — of Heliopolis. 

"The ruins are those of a greater and lesser temple. 

" The subassment of both the temples is artificial, to give them a 
superior elevation ; and the court of the larger, in particular, is prin- 
cipally on arched vaults, to some of which access can now be got. 
The peristyles of the temples stand on strong masonry \ but this it 
has been intended to conceal by facings of stone, or rather rock, of 
the most prodigious size ever used in architecture, as is evident at 
the western and northern ends of the great temple. 

" The enormity of some of the stones of the facing has been often 
brought to notice. One stone, in the western wall, overlooked both 
by Maundrell, and Wood and Dawkins, probably because irregularly 
cut in the outer surface, though of undivided masses, is sixty-nine 
feet in length, thirteen in depth, and eighteen in breadth, affording 
altogether a block of raised rock — to give it in letters — of sixteen 
thousand one hundred and forty-six cubic feet. 

" The fellow of this stone is left nearly ready cut in the quarry, 
about a quarter of an hour to the south of the town, to challenge 
posterity to come up to the deeds of ancestry by removing it from 
its position. Above the stone in the subassment now alluded to, 



164 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

there are three others of enormous dimensions, forming its second 
elevation, of which Wood and Dawkins say, that they found the 
length to make together above a hundred and ninety feet, and sep- 
arately sixty-three feet eight inches, sixty-four feet, and sixty-three 
feet. 

" But let us return again to our plan. We have, beginning with 
the east, a staircase, leading up to a grand portico, with chambers on 
each side. From the portico, the entrance ' must have been by a 
large and two smaller doors into a hexagonal court, with various 
little chambers and niches for idols, the pedestals of which, in many 
instances, still remain. From this court, the entrance is into a large 
quadrangular court, with similar conveniences. 

"Passing this second court, we are at the large temple, properly 
so called. Its remains, in addition to its lower works, consist of a 
colonnade of six Corinthian pillars of majestic size, and bearing a 
rich entablature, forming altogether objects of enchanting architectu- 
ral beauty, with looking at which the eye is never satisfied. 

" These columns belong to the flank of the temple, the original 
number having been nineteen, while there were ten in front. The 
bases and pedestals of the others are in their places. A number of 
the shafts are strewn about, generally with the three pieces of which 
they are composed, separated from one another. The height of 
these pillars, including the architrave, we have found to be seventy 
feet ten inches. Their diameter, taking the measurement between 
the first and second stones, is seven feet three inches. Their dis- 
tance from one another is eight feet seven inches. The temple 
certainly was never finished. 

"The ruins of Baalbek astonish every visitant. Their great 
delineators, who took only an artistic view of them, say : i When 
we compare ' them 'with those of many ancient cities which we 
visited in Italy, Greece, Egypt, and other parts of Asia, we cannot 
help thinking them the boldest plan we ever saw attempted in 
architecture/ 

u Speaking even of the smaller temple, Maundrell says : 'It strikes 
the mind with an air of greatness beyond anything that I ever saw 
before, and is an eminent proof of the magnificence of the ancient 
architecture/ Less grave and sober travellers have written of them 
with unbounded rapture. Lord Lindsay says : * Palmyra at sunrise, 
and Baalbek at sunset, are Claudes treasured in the cabinet of mem- 
ory, which neither accident can injure nor beggary deprive one of/ 

" So much we could say of them, viewing them merely as works 
of art; but the remembrance of the object for which they were 
erected, sent the cold chill of death through our souls. When it 
was adverted to, it was only as ruins that we could look to them 
with any degree of satisfaction. We thanked God, however, that 
in no part of the world, at present, is art in its perfection sacred to 



DIVISION OF CANAAN. 165 

the cause of Pagan idolatry, as it once was. May the time soon 
arrive when it shall no longer be sacred to that idolatry, disguised 
under the name of Christianity, which has taken its place at Rome." 

First Distribution of the Tribes. 

Several years had now been spent in an exterminating warfare 
with the petty tribes of Canaan, thirty-one of whom had been sub- 
dued, and still the conquest was far from being complete. There 
remained yet very much land to be possessed ; the Philistines in the 
south-west, and the G-eshuri south of them ; the coasts of Tyre and 
Zidon, and all the northern part of Palestine, along the southern 
extremities of Lebanon and around Hermon. (Josh. xiii. 4, 5, 6.) 
But in view of the great age of Joshua, it was judged expedient to 
allot to the tribes their several portions, and leave them to complete 
the conquest of the country. 

In this distribution the portions of Judah, Ephraim, and the 
half of Manasseh, were first assigned to them; when it appeared 
that there would not be enough remaining for a just portion to 
the other seven tribes. The boundaries of Judah and Ephraim 
were accordingly reduced by allotting to Dan, Simeon, and Benja- 
min, their portion from the original grants to Judah and Ephraim. 
Several years, however, elapsed before the territory and boundaries 
of the tribes were determinately settled. 

Division op Canaan amongst the Tribes. 

By the adoption to equal rights with their uncles of the two sons 
of Joseph, there became really thirteen tribes of the Jews, but the 
separation of the Levites into scattered districts and cities, reduced 
the number of portions into which the land of Canaan was to be 
divided to twelve, the numer of tribes originally formed from the 
sons of Jacob. The territory assigned to each will be best under- 
stood by an inspection of the map accompanying this work, in 
which the divisions are carefully marked, but a few brief remarks 
on each will tend to elucidate the matter. 

I. Judah. — The territory first allotted to this tribe extended 
over the whole south country from the Dead Sea to the Mediterra- 
nean (Josh, xv.), and embraced nearly a third part of the whole of 
western Palestine ; but after a more accurate survey this was con- 
siderably diminished. " Out of the portion of the children of Judah 
was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the part of the 
children of Judah was too much for them."* By this abstraction 
of territory they were cut off from the sea-coast, but still possessed a 
large and fertile district of tillage land, fruitful, as we have seen, in 
corn and wine, with, farther south, a wide extent of pasturage in the 

* Joshua xix. 9. 



166 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

swelling knolls of the mountains of Judah. We find these advan- 
tages of the district very distinctly alluded to by anticipation in the 
blessing of Jacob. " Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's 
colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his 
clothes in the blood of grapes ; his eyes shall be red with wine, and 
his teeth white with milk."* To this tribe also appears to have been 
given on the same occasion the leadership of the other tribes : " Thou 
art he whom thy brethren shall praise, thy father's children shall 
bow down before thee •" and after the death of Joshua the divine 
oracle ordered Judah to take precedence in the wars against the Ca- 
naanites. Their territory, with the addition of those of Benjamin, 
Simeon, and probably Dan, formed afterwards the kingdom of Judah. 
The name signifies "praise," and their station was in the vanguard 
of the camp. 

II. Simeon. — The district of this tribe, which was more reduced 
in numbers in the desert than any other, was very limited in extent, 
and even of this they could wrest but little from the warlike Philis- 
tines, their neighbours. Very slight mention is made of them in 
Jewish history, nor did they supply any great or leading men. They 
seem to have usually acted in conjunction with Judah, whom we find 
them assisting to conquer Jerusalem, and to have been much under 
the influence of that more powerful tribe. Upon them fell the pun- 
ishment of cruelty denounced by Jacob : " I will divide them in 
Jacob and scatter them in Israel."*}* 

III. Dan. — This was a very numerous tribe, having suffered less 
than any in the desert; and the district assigned to them on the 
south-west coast seems never to have been sufficient for them, even 
had they been able to conquer the whole, which they never suc- 
ceeded in doing. This is the reason assigned for their seizure of the 
town and district of Laish, near the head-waters of the Jordan, which 
is more frequently mentioned than the southern possession, and was 
the northern limit of Canaan — "from Dan to Beersheba." The mo- 
tive and manner of its conquest is given in the 18th chapter of 
Judges. Their territory, as allotted by Joshua and Eleazar, included 
the southern part of the plain of Sharon and the town of Joppa, or 
Jaffa. From this tribe was raised up Samson as a deliverer of the 
people from the yoke of the Philistines. 

IV. Benjamin. — The lot of this tribe " came forth between the 
children of Judah and the children of Joseph/ ' It extended from 
the Jordan on the east, along the north of Judah, by the valley of 
Hinnom south of Jerusalem, as far west as Kirjath-jearim. This 
territory was of small extent, as was the tribe originally, though it 
afterwards increased considerably, but included the highly-produc- 
tive plain of Jericho and the city of Jerusalem. The tribe was very 

* Gen. xlix. 11, 12. t Gen - xlix - 7 - 



DIVISION OF CANAAN. 167 

powerful until nearly exterminated by the other tribes after a sangui- 
nary contest, in which the victors lost over 40,000 men.* They 
afterwards recovered their power and influence, and in the person of 
Saul gave their first king to the Jewish people. After the death of 
Ishbosheth they became subject to David. Through the subsequent 
history we find them closely allied with the tribe of Judah, and they 
returned with it after the Babylonish captivity. 

V. Ephraim. — The younger son of Joseph, but receiving prece- 
dency from the hand and blessing of Jacob, gave a name to this 
tribe, which became one of the most powerful and haughty in the 
nation, and the great rival of the tribe of Judah. The sense of rivalry 
seems in time to have had a great effect in rending the kingdom of 
Solomon into those of Israel and Judah. They formed the rear- 
guard, as Judah did the van of the camp in the desert, and, on the 
division of Canaan, were allotted a large and fruitful territory in the 
centre of the country, including the greater part of the district which 
afterwards was called Samaria, and is described as at present the 
most fertile and agreeable part of Palestine. Within its limits was 
comprised a great part of the lovely plain of Sharon, which has been 
already described, and from this it stretched across that part of the 
table land called the mountains of Ephraim to the Jordan, which 
formed its eastern border, while the sea was its limit on the west. 
On the north it joined its brother tribe Manasseh, and had Benjamin 
and Dan on the south. Within its borders was Sbiloh, which, until 
the time of David, was the sacerdotal capital, the resting place of the 
ark and the tabernacle, whither all the tribes resorted to their solemn 
feasts. We are informed that the Canaanites that dwelt along the 
plain were very powerful, having chariots of iron, and the sons of 
Joseph complaining to Joshua that the hill was not enough for them, 
and that they could not conquer the coast tribes, their territory ap- 
pears to have been increased ; indeed, the districts assigned to the 
sons of Joseph, "the fruitful bough, " were nearly one-fourth of the 
entire land ; this tribe became the head of the kingdom of Israel. 

VI. Manasseh. (Western Half?) — The lot of this tribe was 
north of that of Ephraim ; indeed one portion seems to have been 
set apart for both sons of Joseph. They possessed a great length 
of sea-coast from the brook Kanah to Mount Carmel, but their por- 
tion of the elevated district was much more limited ; and as to the 
plains, we are told " the children of Manasseh could not drive out 
the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites would dwell in that 
land; yet it came to pass when the children of Israel were waxen 
strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly 
drive them out."f The tribe is of very little note in Jewish his- 
tory. 

* Judges xx. f Joshua xvii. 12, 13. 



168 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

VII. Issachar. — In the character given to this tribe by Jacob, 
we find docility and patience of labour indicated under the type of 
an ass, an animal held in high estimation in the East, however de- 
graded in this country. " And he saw/' he goes on to say, " that 
rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant." The portion 
which in the division fell to this tribe has been called the granary of 
Palestine, and under their skilful and painstaking attention to agri- 
culture, it appears to have been a beautiful region, and to have con- 
tinued so even long after the Israelites were removed. Josephus 
says it was fruitful to admiration, abounding in pastures and nurse- 
ries of all kinds, so that it would make any man in love with hus- 
bandry. It included the whole of the fine plain of Esdraelon with 
the neighbouring districts, and Mounts Tabor and Gilboa ; the upper 
course of the Kishon lay within its territory, which was bounded on 
the east by the Jordan, on the west and the south by Manasseh, and 
on the north by Asher and Zebulun. Though a peace-loving and 
gentle people, they took their fair part in military service, and are 
mentioned amongst those who readily followed Deborah and Barak 
in the war against Jabin. 

VIII. Zebulun. — This tribe increased considerably in the wil- 
derness, and at the entrance into Canaan were exceeded in numbers 
only by Judah and Dan. The district assigned to them was towards 
the north, in what was afterwards called Galilee. On the west it 
partly bordered the Lake of Gennesareth, and it touched upon the 
Mediterranean by Mount Carmel. "Zebulun," said Jacob, " shall 
dwell at the haven of the sea, and he shall be for a haven of ships •" 
and Josephus tells us that they took part in the limited maritime 
efforts of the Jews. The greater portion of their territory was, how- 
ever, inland, and of small extent; and not being able to expel the 
former inhabitants, they were contented with reducing them to tri- 
bute. It was bounded on the north by Naphtali, and both districts 
are alluded to in the prophecy of Isaiah, which is recorded by Mat- 
thew as having been fulfilled by our Lord's frequent residence at 
Capernaum, " which is upon the sea-coast, in the borders of Zebulun 
and Nephthalim." " The land of Zebulun and the land of Neph- 
thalim by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gen- 
tiles ; the people which sat in darkness saw a great light ; and to 
them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung 
up."* 

IX. Naphtali. — " Naphtali is a goodly tree that puts forth 
lovely branches" is Bochart's translation of Jacob's blessing, and is 
so admissible from the Hebrew phrase, that it has now been adopted 
by most modern interpreters. This would well apply to the future 
residence of the tribe, as it was a beautifully wooded district in 

* Matt. iv. 15, 16. 



DIVISION OF CANAAN. 169 

Upper Galilee, extending to the roots of Lebanon, and highly pro- 
ductive of fruits. It was bounded on the east by the Sea of Galilee, 
the waters of Merom and the upper course of the Jordan extending 
northward to Mount Safed. To the south it had Zebulun, and 
along the west it was cut off from the Mediterranean by Asher. 
Its territories were mountainous, intersected by beautiful and fertile 
valleys. In early Jewish history this tribe is prominent on several 
occasions for its bravery and alacrity in arming against the oppressors 
of Israel; probably they had been inured to war by the long strug- 
gle which was required to dispossess the inhabitants of the portion 
assigned to them. 

X. Asher. — The portion assigned to this tribe was a long and 
beautiful strip of sea-coast from Sidon, southward to Carmel, in- 
cluding the plain of Acre and the Phoenician plain. " Out of Asher 
his bread shall be fat; he shall yield royal dainties," as our former 
description of this ever-blooming region will verify. They were not, 
however, for a long time able to obtain possession of their portion, 
and had formidable adversaries in the Sidonians, who eventually 
pushed their colony southward to Tyre. " The Asherites dwelt 
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not 
drive them out."* Elon, one of the Judges, was an Asherite, but 
the tribe does not figure much in history, and seems to have entered 
into close alliance with the Sidonians. We have in a former place 
alluded to the promise to this tribe : " Thy shoes shall be iron and 
brass," which metals were abundant in the Phoenician mountains. 

Tribes East of Jordan. 

It does not seem to have been originally the intention of the 
Israelites to occupy any territory except Canaan Proper ; but the 
refusal of the Edomites to give them a passage through their land 
having compelled them to make their entrance through the country 
of the Amorites, some of the more warlike tribes, seeing the fer- 
tility of the land, and especially its suitability for pasture, besought 
Moses to give them settlements in their eastern conquests. On a 
promise that their males of warlike age would advance with their 
brethren and assist in the conquest of Canaan, their request was 
granted, and lands assigned to them in the eastern district. The 
people thus settled in eastern Canaan, which is called by the general 
name of Gilead, were Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 

XI. Reuben. — This tribe was by Moses put in possession of the 
kingdom of the Amorites, from the river Arnon to the brook Jab- 
bok. Its western border was the Dead Sea and the river Jordan, 
while its eastern border was that which we have already ascribed to 
Palestine. It included the mountainous region of Abarim, and some 

* Judges i. 32. 

15 



170 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

fine pasture land at present called Belka, which to a cattle-breeding 
people must have been very valuable. That cattle formed their 
chief occupation, we conclude from their representation to Moses. 
" The country is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle/' 
The Reubenites, after having received their portion, accompanied 
their brethren into Canaan, and fought by their side, until they were 
dismissed to their homes with a blessing by Joshua. After this we 
hear little of them, and they were among the first who were removed 
by Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. "Unstable as water," said 
Jacob, " thou shalt not excel ;" and so, though Reuben was the 
first-born, we never find them taking a pre-eminence amongst the 
tribes. 

XII. Gab.— The portion given to this tribe was chiefly made up 
of the kingdoms of Sihon and Og ; it extended along the Jordan 
northward from the Jabbok, and included "all the cities of Gilead, 
and half the land of the children of Atnmon." This region has 
been described by travellers as very fertile, extensively wooded, and 
yielding abundant pasturage. It was, in fact, that district of Bashan 
so often referred to for its cattle. Though a brave tribe, and placed 
by its position constantly on the defence against the desert hordes 
round its border, it had to yield to the Syrian power, and was early 
led into captivity. " Blessed," says Moses, " be he that enlargeth 
Gad ; he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of 
the head." After their return home from assisting their brethren, 
they took little part in Jewish affairs. In the combination against 
Jabin, they are spoken of under the name of Gilead, as abiding at 
home. Their country is called, in Samuel, the u land of Gad," and 
seems from the pastoral habits of the people of very indefinite extent, 
as they advanced wherever grass was abundant. 

XIII. Manasseh. (Eastern Half.)— To the more valiant por- 
tion of this tribe was given a very wide region about the water 
courses of the Yarmuk, extending northward from Gad to the Heish 
mountains and northern Ban. They seem, however, never to have 
occupied more than certain towns and districts. We hear nothing 
of this section of the tribe after their settlement. 

XIV. Levi. — This tribe, selected for the priestly office, was, as 
Jacob foretold, scattered in Israel, and instead of a distinct territory 
had assigned to it cities, with a suburban district attached to each 
in different parts of the country. The most remarkable of these 
will be mentioned under their names. 

Levitical Cities. 

In the distribution of the tribes, the Levites received no territorial 
inheritance like the other descendants of Jacob, but certain cities 
were assigned to them within the territories of their brethren 
respectively. (Josh. xxi. 9 — 43 ; 1 Chron. vi. 54 seq.) 



LEVITIOAL CITIES. 171 

In Judah the principal levitical city was Hebron. Several others 
in the mountains of Judah, south of Hebron, are still known. 
Juttah, about five miles south of Hebron, is now a large Mahom- 
medan town surrounded with trees, and said to contain old foundations 
and walls. This was probably the residence of Zacharias and Eliz- 
abeth, and the birthplace of John the Baptist. 

Five miles south-west from Juttah is Estemoa, a village situated 
on a low hill, with broad valleys lying around it. It is the first 
inhabited place which greets the traveller on coming up from the 
desert south of Judah. In many places are found walls of massive 
bevelled stone, apparently of great antiquity ; and the remains of 
an old castle of Saracen or Turkish origin. David sent presents to 
his friends, the elders of Judah, in this place. (1 Samuel xxx. 28.) 

Following the same south-western direction a few miles, we find 
the ruins of Ain, or Anim, as Dr. Wilson with greater probability 
supposes. In the immediate vicinity was Jattin, now Atten ; Ain, 
which in the second division fell to the lot of Simeon, was appa- 
rently further south towards the coast of Edom. 

Beth-shemesh was on the north-west of Judah, near the bounda- 
ries of Dan, sixteen miles west by south from Jerusalem. The 
ruins are very extensive, indicating that it was once a large city. 
A small Arab village has been built from these ruins at a little dis- 
tance from them. In the days of Samuel it was celebrated by the 
return of the ark, and the slaughter of many thousands, for their 
irreverent curiosity. (1 Sam. vi. 9 seq.) It was the residence of one 
of the principal officers of Solomon. (1 Sam. iv. 9.) Amaziah, 
king of Judah, was defeated here by Jehoash, king of Israel. (2 
Kings xiv. 11, 12.) It was conquered by the Philistines in the 
reign of Ahaz (2 Chron. xviii. 18) ; and after this, is no more men- 
tioned in the Scriptures. 

Libnah was captured by Joshua, and was the residence of one of 
the Ganaanitish kings. Under Joram it revolted from Judah, and 
afterwards was besieged by Sennacherib. It was situated in the 
plains of Judah, in the western division of the territory, but its site 
is unknown. (2 Kings viii. 22; 2 Chron. xxi. 10; 2 Kings xix, 8; 
Isaiah xxxvii. 8.) Holon is totally unknown. Jeremiah (xlviii. 
21) speaks of another in the plains of Moab, equally unknown. 

Gibeon in Benjamin has been already mentioned. 

Anathoth, now Anata, is four miles north-east from Jerusalem. 
It is now a miserable village, but was once a walled town, and still 
retains, in its ruins, indications of its former importance. It is cel- 
ebrated as the birthplace and usual residence of the prophet Jere- 
miah, and occurs in several parts of the scriptures. (Josh. xxi. 18 ; 
Jer. i. 1 ; Ezra ii. 23 ; Neh. vii. 27.) 

Greba lies beyond Anathoth, before coming to Michmash, one mile 
and a half east of Ramah. Dr. Robinson describes it as lying upon 



172 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

a low rounded eminence on a broad ridge shelving down towards the 
valley of the Jordan, and forming a fine sloping plain with fields of 
grain. The village is small and half in ruins, among which are 
some large hewn stones indicating great antiquity. There is a 
square tower almost solid, and an ancient building having the 
appearance of a small church. 

Gezer, or Gazer, was a border city, between Dan and Ephraim 
(Josh. xxi. 21), north-west of Beth-horon, at a short distance. It 
was a celebrated battle-field in the wars with the Philistines (2 Sam. 
v. 25 ; 1 Chron. xiv. 16, xx. 4) ; it was fortified by Solomon (1 
Kings ix. 16, 17), and became in the time of the Maccabees the 
scene of many severe conflicts. (1 Mac. iv. 15; viii. 45; ix. 52; 
xiii. 43.) 

Dabareh is now a small village at the base of Mount Tabor, on 
the western side. Jarmuth of Isaachar is unknown. There was 
also a town of this name in the plains of Judah. (Josh. xv. 35.) 

Kedesh of Naphtali was twenty miles east of Tyre, on the heights 
north of Safet, and west of the waters of Merom. It was a city of 
refuge, and the birthplace of Barak (Judges iv. 6). It was captured 
by Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings xv. 29). It has been explored by 
American missionaries, who found here only an inconsiderable village. 

Golan of Manasseh was a city of Bashan, east of the Sea of Gali- 
lee, which gave its name to the province of Gaulonitis. It was a 
city of refuge. 

Bamoth, or Bamoth-Gilead, was on the borders of Gad. It was 
one of the cities of refuge (Josh. xx. 8), and one of the towns in 
which Solomon placed an intendant. (1 Kings iv. 13.) It was evi- 
dently a strong place, the last of their conquests which the Assyrians 
surrendered. 

Ahab was slain here by a bow, drawn at venture, whilst engaged 
in battle for the mastery of the place (1 Kings xxii. ; 2 Chron. 
xviii.); and Joram, his son, fourteen years after, was wounded in a 
similar effort (2 Kings viii. 28). Each sought a confederacy with 
the contemporary king of Judah ; an alliance never found between 
the kings of those rival nations on any other occasion, except in a 
single instance. 

Here Jehu was appointed king over Israel by the prophet Elisha, 
and began his exterminating warfare against the house of Ahab. (2 
Kings ix.) 

The site of Bamoth-Gilead has been referred by conjecture to that 
of the village of Salt, a few miles south of the river Jabbok, and 
about the same distance east of Jordan. It is an isolated hill, sur- 
rounded on all sides by steep and barren mountains, from which it 
is separated by a narrow valley. This hill is crowned with a castle 
for the defence of the plain, and the houses rise one above the other 
along the steep declivity of the hill, as if pressing up to the castle 



CITIES OP REFUGE — SHILOH. 173 

for protection from the wandering Arabs, who rove for plunder over 
all this desolate and forsaken region. 

It is only in such mountain retreats that the people are safe from 
the thievish propensities of the Arabs, or the extortions of Turkish 
officers. 

Cities oe Refuge. 

Moses had made provision for the establishment of six cities, as 
places of refuge, to which one who had accidentally caused the death 
of another might flee, as an asylum from the avenger of blood. It 
was a merciful provision to protect the innocent against the hasty 
and unjust consequences of the established rights of blood-revenge, 
and to encourage a mild forgiving spirit. The laws on this subject, 
as given in the references, sufficiently illustrate the nature of this 
peculiar right of revenge, and the merciful provision of these cities 
of refuge. (Exod. xxi. 13; Num. xxxv. 9 — 35; Deut. xix. 1 — 13; 
Josh. xx. 7 — 9.) 

These cities were situated three on the west side of Jordan, and 
three on the east, at convenient distances from north to south, on a 
line running through the central portions of the eastern and western 
territory of the tribes. Those in Canaan were Kedesh of Naphtali, 
Shechem, and Hebron. Beyond Jordan, Golan, Ramoth-Gilead, and 
Bezer in Reuben, east of the Dead Sea, of which nothing more is 
known. 

In order to give the fugitive all possible advantage, the rabbins 
relate that the Sanhedrim were required to make the roads that led 
to the cities of refuge convenient by enlarging them, and removing 
every obstruction that might hurt the foot of the fugitive, or injure 
his speed. No hillock was left, no river was allowed over which 
there was not a bridge, and at every turn there were posts erected 
with pannels, pointing in the right direction, and bearing the words 
Refuge, Refuge, to guide the unhappy man in his flight. 

Shiloh. 

The final division of the land was made at Shiloh, which Joshua 
had chosen as a central position, when he had set up the tabernacle, 
and deposited the ark of the covenant. Here it continued more than 
four hundred years, until taken by the Philistines in the days of Eli. 
Shiloh was situated in a retired valley, near a fountain of water, a 
little east of the main road leading from Jerusalem to Shechem, and 
about fifteen miles south of the latter place. Dr. Robinson has the 
honour of bringing to light this latter place out of the oblivion of 
many ages, and the account of it may be best given in his own words : — 

u We came at seven o'clock to the ruins of Seilun, surrounded by 
hills, but looking out through the small valley we had traversed, 
towards the plain on the south. Hardly five minutes before reaching 
15* 



174 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the proper site is an ancient ruin, a tower, or perhaps a small chapel, 
about twenty-eight feet square inside, with walls four feet thick. 

" Within are three prostrate columns, with Corinthian capitals 
lying separate. The stone which forms the upper part of the door- 
way is ornamented on the outside with sculptured work, an amphora 
between two chaplets. Along the outer wall, a defence or buttress 
of sloping masonry has been built up, obviously at a later period. 
The Arabs call this ruin the Mosque of Seilun. As we came up, 
three startled owls flew off in dismay. 

" Our guide told us of a fountain up through the narrow valley 
towards the east. We went thither, and found that the valley here 
breaks through a ridge, and is at first shut in by perpendicular walls 
of rock; then follows a more open tract; and here, at the left, fifteen 
minutes from Seilun, is the fountain. 

"The water is excellent, and issues from the rocks, first into a 
sort of artificial well, eight or ten feet deep, and thence into a 
reservoir lower down. Many flocks and herds were waiting round 
about. In the sides of the narrow valley are many excavated tombs, 
now much broken away ; near the fountain are also several tombs, 
and one in that isolated block. We returned down the valley, and 
followed it through on the north side of Seilun. 

" Here then was Shiloh, where the tabernacle was set up after the 
country had been subdued before the Israelites ; and where the last 
and general division of the land was made among the tribes. (Josh, 
xviii. 1 — 10.) The ark and tabernacle long continued here, from 
the days of Joshua, during the ministry of all the judges and the 
close of Eli's life ; and here Samuel was dedicated to God, and his 
childhood spent in the sanctuary. (1 Sam. chap, i.-iv. 

" In honour of the presence of the ark, there was ' a feast of the 
Lord in Shiloh yearly/ during which f the daughters of Shiloh came 
out to dance in dances ;' and it was on such an occasion, that they 
were seized and carried off by the remaining Benjamites as wives. 
(Judges xxi. 19—23.) 

"The scene of these dances may not improbably have been some- 
where around the fountain above described. From Shiloh the ark 
was at length removed to the army of Israel ; and being captured 
by the Philistines, returned no more to its former place. (1 Sam. 
chap, iv.-vi.) 

" Shiloh henceforth, though sometimes the residence of prophets, 
as of Ahijah, celebrated in the history of Jeroboam, (1 Kings vi. 29; 
xii. 15 ; xiv ? 2), is nevertheless spoken of as forsaken and accursed 
of God. (Psalm lxxviii. 60 ; Jer. vii. 12 ; xxvii. 6.) 

H It is mentioned in Scripture during the exile, but not afterwards ; 
and Jerome speaks of it in his day as so utterly in ruins, that the 
foundation of an altar could scarcely be pointed out." (Jer. xli. 5.) 



EXTERMINATION OF THE CANAANITES. 175 



Death of Joshua. 

After the distribution of land, and the dismissal of the tribes 
beyond Jordan, Joshua appears to have retired to his own inheritance 
at Timnath-serah, in the mountains of Ephraiin, and to have passed 
there the remainder of his days in quietness. After the lapse of 
some twenty years, and just before his death, he summoned two con- 
vocations of the people; one at Shiloh, where he delivered to them 
his parting charge (Josh, xxiii.) ; another at Shechem, where the 
blessing and the curse had formerly been announced to the tribes 
standing on Ebal and Gerizim. 

On this occasion, he caused the covenant, by which the Lord had 
become their sovereign (Deut. xxvii. ; Josh. viii. 30—35), to be 
solemnly acknowledged and renewed ; and caused a record of it to 
be made in the Book of the Law. He also erected a pillar as a 
standing memorial of it, under an oak near the place of this solemn 
transaction. It had been consecrated by the prayers of Abraham, 
and by sacred associations had become a sanctuary to them. 

Soon after these solemn rites and charges to the people, this vene- 
rable patriarch and leader of Israel died, 1516 b. a, aged one 
hundred and ten years, and was buried on the border of his inherit- 
ance, in Timnath-serah. 

Extermination of the Canaanites. 

In answer to the objections that have been frequently urged to the 
forcible occupation of Canaan, and the extermination of the inhabit- 
ants by the Israelites, it is sufficient to observe that they acted by 
direct authority of Jehovah, the king of nations. 

These tribes had wearied the long-suffering of God by their sins. 
Their iniquity was now full; and the day of vengeance had fully 
come. Their extermination was necessary for the accomplishments 
of the Divine purpose in making the descendants of Abraham the 
depositaries of his word, and preserving among them a pure religion. 

They were to be wholly dispossessed of the land ; but they were 
at liberty to emigrate to other lands, and many of them are said to 
have colonized on the northern coast of Africa. Many ages after 
these events, there are said to have been found two pillars in a town 
in Numidia, on which were inscribed, in Phoenician characters, these 
words : " We are of those who fled from the arms of Joshua, the 
robber, the son of Nane." 



CHAPTER X. 

From the Death of Joshua to the Death of Saul. 

b.c. 1427—1095. 

After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel ceased their ex- 
terminating warfare with the Canaanites, and contented themselves 
with making them vassals. They even proceeded to contract mar- 
riages with them, and thus spread a snare for their own feet, in which 
they were soon entangled. They sunk into idolatry, and into the 
shocking licentiousness and debaucheries with which the idolatry of 
Canaan was characterized. 

Of these idolatries we have a remarkable instance, in the case of 
Micah and the Danites. (Judges xvii., xviii.) This story, though 
placed at the end of the book as a kind of supplement, belongs to a 
very early period in the history of the Judges. A party of this tribe 
from Zorah and Eshtaol, on the plains of Judah, west of Jerusalem, 
dissatisfied with their inheritance, went forth to establish a colony in 
the northern frontiers of the land. 

On their way through the mountains of Ephrairn, they stole 
from Micah, at Kirjath-jearim, his idolatrous images, and established 
his idolatry in Laish, the city of their conquest, to which they gave 
the name of Dan. 

This was situated a few miles north of the waters of Merom, the 
modern El-Huleh, and near the fountains already described as one 
of the head waters of Jordan. 

The idolatry which was introduced prepared the place to become, 
several hundred years later, the chief seat of Jeroboam's worship of 
the golden calf. (1 Kings xii. 29.) 

It was overrun by the Syrians in their invasion (1 Kings xv. 20 ; 
2 Chron. xvi. 4), and is celebrated as the northern limit of Palestine, 
in the common expression, "froin Dan to Beersheba." 

The mustering of the hosts of Israel to avenge the horrible atrocity 
at Gibeah was at Mizpeh, about six or seven miles north-west from 
Jerusalem. Gibeah occupied a conical hill, three miles south-east 
of this city, and the same distance north of Jerusalem. These data 
are sufficient to direct us to the scene of that dreadful carnage by 
which the tribe of Benjamin was almost exterminated. 

Bimmon, to which the remnant fled, is a high, chalky, naked 
peak, about fifteen miles north-by-east from Jerusalem, and about 
half this distance from Gebah, in the same direction. 

(176) 



BOOK OF JUDGES. 177 



Judges. 



The office of the Judges was very peculiar. They were not kings; 
for Jehovah was the invisible king of the Jews, whose decrees and 
instructions were given by the Urim and Thummim. Neither were 
the Judges heads of the tribes, but persons who, by their virtues, 
exercised a presiding influence, more or less extensive, over the people. 
Their office, and the condition of the people under them, is clearly 
presented in the following extract from Dr. Jahn : — 

" That madness of debauchery which was exhibited in the city of 
Gibeah, and the protection which the tribe of Benjamin afforded 
the criminals in opposition to all the other tribes (Judges xix., xx.), 
displays the true source of so obstinate an attachment to an idolatry 
that consecrated such vices, and which must have had many adherents 
among the Benjamites at the time of Phinehas, soon after the death 
of Joshua. 

"The other tribes, however, were as yet more piously disposed, 
and idolatry was not openly tolerated till that generation was ex- 
tinct, which, under Joshua, had sworn anew to the covenant with 
Jehovah. After that, the rulers were unable or unwilling any longer 
to prevent the public worship of pagan deities. 

" But the Hebrews, rendered effeminate by this voluptuous religion, 
and forsaken by their King, Jehovah, were no longer able to contend 
with their foes, and were forced to bow their necks under a foreign 
yoke. In this humiliating and painful subjection to a conquering 
people, they called to mind their deliverance from Egypt, the ancient 
kindnesses of Jehovah, the promises and threatenings of the law ; 
they forsook their idols, who could afford them no assistance, returned 
to the sacred tabernacle, and then found a deliverer who freed them 
from the yoke of servitude. 

" The reformation generally was of no longer duration than the 
life of the deliverer. As soon as that generation was extinct, idolatry 
again crept in by the same way, and soon became predominant. 
Then followed subjection and oppression under the yoke of a neigh- 
bouring people, till a second reformation prepared them for a new 
deliverance. 

"Between these extremities of prosperity and adversity, as the 
consequences of their fidelity or treachery to the King Jehovah, the 
Hebrew nation was continually fluctuating till the time of Samuel. 
Such were the arrangements of Providence, that as soon as idolatry 
gained the ascendancy, some one of the neighbouring people grew 
powerful, acquired the preponderance, and subjected the Hebrews. 

"Jehovah always permitted their oppressions to become sufficiently 
severe to arouse them from their slumbers, to remind them of the 
sanctions of the law, and to turn them again to their God and King. 
Then a hero arose, who inspired the people with courage, defeated 



178 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

their foes, abolished idolatry, and re-established in their hearts the 
authority of Jehovah. (Judges ii.-vi.) 

" As the Hebrews in the course of time became continually more 
obstinate in their idolatry, so each subsequent oppression of the 
nation was always greater and more severe than the preceding. So 
difficult was it, as mankind were then situated, to preserve on earth 
a knowledge of the true God, though so repeatedly and so expres- 
sively revealed, and in so high a degree made evident to the senses." 

The conquests mentioned in the first chapter of Judges were ante- 
cedent to the death of Joshua. The situation of Bezek is unknown. 

Zephath (Judges i. 17), already noticed, was one of the "uttermost 
cities of Judah towards the coast of Edom southwards," where the 
repentant Israelites were repulsed, with severe loss, in their rash 
attempt to go up and possess the land, after having been sentenced 
to die in the wilderness for their impatient unbelief. 

The towns in Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, 
in which these tribes suffered the Canaanites still to dwell, have 
either been already mentioned or are unknown. 

The situation of Bochim, where the angel rebuked the people for 
their remissness (Judges ii.), is wholly conjectural. It was probably 
near Shiloh. 

Their first servitude, about thirty years after the death of Joshua, 
was of eight years' continuance, under a king of Mesopotamia, the 
native country of Abraham. Othniel, their deliverer, was from 
Debir (Judges iii. 1 — 11), in the south-western part of Judea. 

Their next conquerors came from beyond Jordan and the country 
east of the Dead Sea. They seem to have contented themselves 
with the conquest of the "city of palm-trees" in the plains of 
Jericho. Their deliverer was Ehud, a Benjamite, who slew Eglon 
the oppressor at Gilgal, a few miles south of Jericho, B. c. 1325. 
(Judges iii. 11—30.) 

The Israelites next found a formidable foe in the person of Jabin, 
king of Hazor, on the northern frontiers of Palestine. Near two 
hundred years before, Joshua had subdued a powerful prince of this 
name ; but in this space of time this family had again become pow- 
erful. Deborah, a prophetess, between Bethel and Ramah, instigates 
Barak of Kedesh in Naphtali, west of the Sea of Merom, and in 
the immediate vicinity of Hazor itself, to collect an army from the 
neighbouring tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun. These muster at 
Mount Tabor, on the southern border of Zebulun and eastern side 
of the plain of Esdraelon, where Sisera gives him battle, and is de- 
feated and slain, B. c. 1285. (Judges iv., v.) 

The oppression of Midian, and deliverance by Gideon, of the tribe 
of Manasseh, are briefly and clearly sketched by Jahn : — 

" The Midianites, united with the Amalekites and other nomadic 
Arabians, during seven years, poured into Palestine in great numbers, 



BOOK OF JUDGES. 179 

and with their numerous herds trampled down all the fields, gardens 
and vineyards without distinction, seized the cattle, plundered men 
and houses, and rioted in the country, as the Bedouin Arabs are 
accustomed to do at the present day, when not restrained by force. 

" This chastisement, the duration of which is not mentioned, was 
evidently far more distressing than any thing which had occurred 
before. The emigration of Elimelech, the father-in-law of Ruth, 
probably took place at this time. (Ruth i. 1, 2.) 

" The great deliverer from this oppression was Grideon, of the tribe 
of Manasseh. The stratagem by which he obtained a decisive vic- 
tory is well known. Two Midianite chiefs, Oreb and Zeeb, were 
taken prisoners and put to death. Two kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, 
fled; but they were pursued, overtaken, and likewise suffered death. 
Of the numerous army of the Midianites, one hundred and twenty 
thousand were left dead on the field of battle, and only fifteen thou- 
sand saved themselves by flight. 

" Grideon magnanimously rejected the proffer of hereditary royalty, 
which the rulers in the warmth of their gratitude had made him. 
1 Not 1/ replied he, in the true spirit of the theocracy, ' not I, nor my 
son, but Jehovah shall reign over you/ 

"The Shechemites, indeed, after his death, elevated one of his 
sons to the throne, and he, too, the most abandoned wretch of the 
whole family. They also built an idolatrous temple, but they suf- 
fered merited punishment from their own king, and their temple 
was destroyed by fire. (Judges vi.-ix.) 

" The Hebrews now remained unmolested by foreign enemies 
forty-three years, excluding the period of the Midianitish oppression." 

These Midianites came up from the country south and east of the 
Dead Sea. The scene of their encampment was the famous valley 
of Jezreel, between the mountains of Grilboa and Little Hermon. 
In their flight they fled down the valley by Beth-shittah (Judges 
vi.-ix.), or Beth-shean, Abelmeholah, and Succoth, to the Jordan, 
beyond which their princes, Zebah and Zalmunna, were captured 
near Karkor. 

The servitude under the Midianites, the administration of Grideon, 
and the reign of his unworthy son, Abimelech, include the space of 
fifty years, from B. c. 1252 to 1235. 

Of Shamir, the residence of Tola, B. C. 1232, we only know that 
it was in the territory of Issachar, in the mountains of Ephraim. 
(Judges x. 1, 2.) 

Jair, B. c. 1210, lived in Grilead, over against the mountains of 
Ephraim, beyond Jordan. (Judges x. 3 — 5.) 

Jephthah, b. c. 1206, also judged Israel in Gilead, beyond Jordan. 
He had been living for some years the life of a wild Arab chieftain, 
in the unknown country of Job, beyond the confines of the tribes, 
whence he was recalled for the deliverance of his countrymen. 



180 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Mizpeh is supposed by some to be the place where Laban set up 
a heap of stones. (Gen. xxxi. 49.) By others it is supposed to be 
different ; we only know that it was in Gilead. From thence Jeph- 
thah pursued the enemy south-east to Minnoth, near Heshbon. 

Ibzan, b. c. 1182, dwelt at Bethlehem. (Judges xii. 8.) Elon, 
b. c. 1175, in Ajalon, a few miles north-west of Jerusalem, in Zeb- 
ulun. Eli is now high-priest. 

Of the residence of Abdon, B.C. 1165, we only know that it was 
in Pirathon, in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalek- 
ites. (Judges xii. 15.) 

Samson, b. c. 1156. This remarkable personage, equally distin- 
guished for his great bodily strength, his moral infirmities, and his 
tragical end, was born at Zorah, in the tribe of Ban. It is still 
recognized, situated upon a high hill, on the western line of the 
mountains of Judah, sixteen miles west of Jerusalem. It overlooks, 
on the south, a fine deep valley that comes out of the mountains, 
and commands a wide prospect of the great plain beyond, on the 
south and west. (Judges xiii.) 

Timnath, the scene of the next chapter, lay in full view on the 
plain below, three or four miles south-west from Zorah. (Judges xiv.) 

Askelon was on the coast of the Mediterranean, nearly midway 
between Gaza and Ashdod, and thirty-seven miles west-south-west 
from Jerusalem. It was the birth-place of Herod the Great, who 
adorned it with fountains, baths, and colonnades. It is particularly 
conspicuous in the history of the Crusades, at which period its har- 
bour was closed, and the place reduced to ruins. 

The Rev. Mr. Smith, who visited it in 1827, describes it as one 
of the most mournful scenes of utter desolation he had ever beheld. 
Thick, massive walls flanked with towers, built on the top of a ridge 
of rock that encircles the town, and terminates at each end in the 
sea, attest the strength and former grandeur of the place. 

Etam, the stronghold to which Samson retired (Judges xv. 8), is 
supposed by some to have been in the vicinity of a town of the same 
name, a mile or two south of Bethlehem, which was ornamented by 
Solomon, and fortified by Behoboam. (1 Chron. iv. 3, 32 ; 2 Chron. 
xi. 6.) Others suggest that it may have been the Frank Mountain, 
east of Bethlehem. 

We next find Samson fearlessly lodging in Gaza, the principal 
city of the Philistines, and bearing away the gates of the city by an 
effort of more than mortal power ; and then again, in the valley of 
Sorek, a victim to the blandishments of Delilah. (Judges xvi.) 

This valley, according to Von Baumer, has its outlet at Askelon, 
where it discharges a small stream of water. Somewhere in the 
neighbourhood of this city, then, in just judgment for his folly, he 
is shorn of his strength, and led captive and blind to Gaza, to grind 
in the prison-house of his enemies ; where bowing himself down in 



RAMATHAIM-ZOPHIM, RAMAH, 181 

the greatness of his returning strength, when led out for the diver- 
sion of the people assembled at a great festival of their god Dagon, 
he tore away the solid foundations of their temple, and perished, 
with multitudes of his insulting foes, beneath its ruins. 

Book of Ruth. 

This delightful pastoral belongs to the period of the Judges ) per- 
haps to the times of Jephthah. The husband of Naomi, during the 
famine, removes from the land of Bethlehem to the land of Moab, 
lying south-east of the Dead Sea. After a few years Naomi returns, 
in deep poverty and affliction, to her kindred at Bethlehem, having 
buried in that foreign country her husband and her two sons. 

Ruth, the wife of one of the sons, returns with her aged mother- 
in-law, saying : " Whither thou goest I will go : and where thou 
lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God 
my God." Soon after their return to Bethlehem, Ruth is married 
to Boaz, a rich relative of her deceased husband. By this marriage 
this Moabitish woman becomes the ancestor of David, and of David's 
greater Son, our Lord and Saviour. 

Samuel and Saul. 

Eli, an amiable and pious man, but weak and inefficient, was high- 
priest at Shiloh, during 4he administration of the last three Judges 
of Israel, Elon, Abdon, and Samson, from B. c. 1175 to 1156. 
Samson must have been born about the time of the commencement 
of Eli's ministry. The death of Eli, on hearing of that of his two sons, 
Hophni and Phinehas, and the capture of the Ark by the Philis- 
tines, occurred a short time previous to the death of Samson, B. C. 
1117. (1 Sam. vi.) 

The return of the Ark, after a captivity of seven months, coin- 
cided very nearly with the death of Samson. Samuel was born 
during Eli's ministry, and could not have been more than twenty 
years old at the death of Eli and Samson. He was a child of prayer 
and promise, devoted to the service of God from the beginning, and 
reared up to be a deliverer of his people ; second only to Moses in 
the importance of his services and the moral grandeur of his char- 
acter as a ruler and judge, and as a prophet of the Lord. 

Ramathaim-zophim, Ramah. 

Samuel was born at Ramathaim-zophim, in Mount Ephraim, 
which is also supposed to have been the place of his residence and 
of his burial. But the researches of travellers, and the inquiries 
of the learned, have entirely failed to give any satisfactory location 
to this favourite residence of the prophet. 

Saul in his circuit in search of the stray asses of his father, visited 
16 



182 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Samuel at Ramah, and in returning from thence to Gibeah, his 
native place, some few miles north of Jerusalem, his course would 
lead him by Rachel's sepulchre at Bethlehem, five miles south of 
Jerusalem. This would seem to imply that the prophet dwelt some- 
where yet further south of this city, among the mountains of Judah, 
instead of Mount Ephraim. 

To reconcile these difficulties, Gesenius supposes the prophet's 
residence to have been near the Frank Mountain, at a short distance 
south-east of Bethlehem. Dr. Robinson identifies it with Soba, a 
few miles west of Jerusalem. Others locate it further south, towards 
Hebron; and others again contend that Rachel's sepulchre must 
have been, not at Bethlehem, but in Mount Ephraim; and that 
Ramah is still further north in the same mountain. Amid these 
conflicting opinions we remain in total uncertainty respecting the 
site of Ramathaim-zophim of Samuel. 

Ramah, however, is a name of frequent occurrence in the Scrip- 
tures ; and it may be well to bring together, in comparison, the sev- 
eral places which bore this name. 

Besides the Ramah of Samuel, of which we have spoken, there 
was a Ramah in Benjamin, six miles north of Jerusalem, and near 
Geba. Its ruins, Er-Ram, identified by Dr. Robinson, lie upon a 
high hill, a little east of the main road leading from Jerusalem to 
Samaria and Galilee, occupying a very conspicuous station, and com- 
manding a wide prospect. 

Ramah was fortified by Baasha, king of Israel, and was soon 
destroyed by Ben-hadad of Syria, a confederate of Asa, king of 
Judah. (1 Kings xv. 17; 2 Chron. xvi. 1.) It is described by 
Isaiah as thrown into consternation at the approach of the Assyri- 
ans. (Isa. x.;29.) Here also was heard the voice of lamentation and 
weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be com- 
forted. (Jer. xxi. 15 ; Matt. ii. 18.) 

There was also a Ramah on the borders of Naphtali and Asher, 
south-east from Tyre. (Josh. xix. 29, 36.) 

Mention is made of another Ramah in Gilead, east of Jordan. 
(2 Kings viii. 29.) The same as Ramoth-Gilead, which has been 
already described. 

South Ramoth belonged to Simeon, in the land of Judah. (1 
Sam. xxx. 27.) 

The birth of Samuel, his consecration as a Nazarite to the service 
of God, and his call to be a Prophet of the Lord, are detailed with 
clearness in the Scriptures. (1 Sam. i., ii., iii.) 

Aphek. 

The battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, when the 
Ark was taken, was fought in Aphek (1 Sam. iv. 1, seq.), near 
Ebenezer, the stone which Samuel afterwards erected near Mizpeh ; 



ASHDOD — GATH. 183 

in commemoration of a victory over the Philistines. (1 Sam. vii. 
12.) This was apparently near the borders of Judah and Benja- 
min, not far from Jerusalem, and is to be distinguished from Aphek 
in the valley of Jezreel near Endor, where the Philistines had their 
camp before their victory over Saul. (1 Sam. xxix.) 

There was a third Aphek, situated high upon the mountains east 
of the Sea of Galilee, on the road from Damascus to the Hauran, a 
part of ancient Bashan. Here Ben-hadad was captured by Ahab. 
(1 Kings xx. 26—30.) 

There was a fourth Aphek, in Asher, eastward of Zidon. (Josh. 
xix. 30; Judges i. 31 j Josh. xiii. 4.) 

Ashdod. 

Ashdod, the city of the Philistines, to which the Ark was taken, 
was situated on the coast of the Mediterranean, eighteen miles north- 
by-east of Gaza, and nearly midway between that city and Joppa, 
and at equal distances between Askelon and Ekron. It is now a 
small village, on a grassy hill, overspread with ruins and surrounded 
with woods, but once a place of great importance. 

It was captured by the king of Assyria in the days of Isaiah (Isa. 
xx. 1), and afterwards sustained a siege by Psammetichus, king of 
Egypt, of twenty-nine years, which is the longest siege on record. 
It was frequently the subject of prophetic denunciation (Jer. xxv. 20 ; 
Amos i. 8 ; iii. 9 ; Zeph. ii. 4 ; Zech. ix. 6), and was afterwards 
destroyed by the Maccabees. (1 Mac. v. 68 ; x. 71 — 88 ; xi. 4.) 
Philip was carried by the Spirit here, after baptizing the Ethiopian 
eunuch. (Acts viii. 40.) It subsisted many years afterwards as a 
miserable village. 

Gath. 

From Ashdod the Ark was removed to Gath, of which frequent 
mention is made in the history of the kings of Israel and Judah. 
Goliath of Gath has made us familiar with its name from early child- 
hood. (1 Sam. xvii.) David, soon after the death of Goliath, fled 
himself to Gath, where he found protection from Saul for a year and 
four months. (1 Sam. xxvii. 3.) " Tell it not in Gath/' is his, pa- 
thetic lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, from which place he 
would conceal their fall. (2 Sam. i. 20.) 

It was afterwards conquered and fortified by him, and also by 
Rehoboam. (2 Sam. viii. 1 ; 1 Chron. xviii. 1 ; 2 Chron. xi. 8.) 
David, when he fled from Absalom, had six hundred faithful attend- 
ants from this city. (2 Sam. xv. 18.) Under Jehoash, Hazael king 
of Syria took Gath (2 Kings xii. 17), which again was recovered 
from Ben-hadad his successor. (2 Kings, xiii. 24.) Uzziah broke 
down its walls, after which it seems not to have recovered its former 
strength. Amos adverts to its fallen greatness. (Amos vi. 2.) But 



184 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the conflict which it sustained for three hundred years with the kings 
of Judah, attests the strength of this city of the Philistines. 

Modern travellers make no mention of Gath. It has no longer a 
name or a place among the habitations of men. 

We next trace the Ark from Gath to Ekron, on the northern bor- 
ders of Judah. We are indebted to Dr. Robinson for identifying 
this city. It is now a small Moslem village, built of unburnt bricks 
or mud, and situated on an eminence, near a ridge of hills that run 
out from the mountains into the great western plain, on the northern 
frontiers of the ancient land of the Philistines. 

" The ancient Ekron," says Dr. Robinson, " was at first assigned 
to Judah, as upon its border, but was afterwards apparently given to 
Dan, though conquered by Judah. It afterwards became remarkable 
in connection with the return of the Ark by the Philistines, which 
was sent back from Ekron upon a new cart drawn by two milch-kine. 
These, being left to their own course, took the straight way to Beth- 
shemesh, the nearest point of entrance to the mountains of Judah. 
(1 Sam. v. 10; vi. 1—18.) 

u In coming, therefore, from Ain Shems to Akir, we might almost 
be said to have followed the track of the cart on which the Ark was 
sent back. 

" After David's victory over Goliath, in Wady Es-Sumt, the Phi- 
listines were pursued to Ekron; and, at a later day, the prophets 
utter denunciations against it along with the other cities of the Phi- 
listines.^ (1 Sam. xvii. 52; Jer. xxv. 20; Amos i. 8; Zeph. ii. 4; 
Zech. ix. 5, 7.) From Ekron, the Ark was returned to Beth-shemeth. 

Kirjath-Jearim. 

Kirjath-jearim now becomes the resting-place of the Ark. This 
town is nine miles north-east of Beth-shemesh. The town is built 
on terraces, on the side of a hill ; and had formerly a convent of the 
Minorites and a Latin church. This is now partly in ruins, but it is 
still one of the most substantial in Palestine. The place, however, 
is chiefly distinguished as having been the depository of the Ark for 
the space of seventy years, "Until it was removed to Jerusalem by 
David, B. C. 1045. (2 Sam. vi.) Forty-three years after which 
remove, it was deposited in its final resting-place, the holy of holies 
in Solomon's temple. Here, shrouded in the awful effulgence of the 
Shekinah, the glory of which filled the most holy place in token of 
the Divine presence, it continued four hundred and fifty years, until 
the temple was destroyed. 

Mizpeh. 

The Ark was brought to Kirjath-jearim twenty years before the 
great day of Mizpeh, when Samuel began to judge Israel. In a great 
convocation at this place, the whole nation testified their repentance : 



MIZPEH. 185 

" They drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on 
that day, and said there, We have sinned against the Lord; and 
Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it as a burnt-offering before 
the Lord, and cried unto the Lord for Israel." 

In the midst of these solemnities the Philistines come up to over- 
whelm them, and meet with an overthrow as signal as that of the 
Egyptians ; the Lord thundering on them with a great thunder, in 
fulfilment of Hannah's prophecy. (1 Sam. vii. 2, 10.) Where, then, 
was Mizpeh, the scene of this reformation and deliverance ! The 
name denotes a watch-tower. Corresponding to this, there is a high 
summit in the mountains of Benjamin, about six miles north and 
west of Jerusalem, which overlooks all the surrounding country to a 
great distance. On this sightly and commanding summit, known by 
the name of Neby-samwil, is supposed to have been this ancient town, 
where the tribes were then assembled, and subsequently often con- 
vened; where Samuel judged the people in his yearly circuits to 
Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh; where Saul was chosen king by lot; 
and where, under the Chaldeans, Gedaliah, the governor, resided and 
was assassinated. (Josh, xviii. 26 ; Judges xx. 1 ; xxi. 1 ; 1 Sam. 
v ii. 5—16; x. 17, seq.-, 2 Kings xxv. 22—25.) 

Neby-samwil is a miserable village, having " a few houses now 
inhabited, and many traces of former dwellings. In some parts, the 
rock, which is soft, has been hewn away for several feet in height, 
so as to form the walls of houses ; in one place it is thus cut down 
apparently for the foundation of a large building ; two or three reser- 
voirs are also in like manner hewn in the rock. These cuttings and 
levellings extend over a considerable space."* 

Mizpeh of Samuel is to be carefully distinguished from others of 
the same name. There was a Mizpeh in Judah (Josh. xv. 38) 
another in Moab, probably the same as Kir-Moab (1 Sam. xxii. 3) 
another in Gilead, the same as Bamoth-Mizpeh (Judges xi. 29 
Josh. xiii. 26) ; and yet a second in Gilead, north of the foregoing 
where Jacob and Laban had their final interview. (Gen. xxxi. 49 
Judges x. 17; Jer. xl. 6, 8.) 

In his old age, Samuel established his two sons as judges in Beer- 
sheba, in the south of Judah. In consequence of their maladminis- 
tration, the people formally rejected Jehovah as their king, and 
became importunate for a king like all the nations. The consequence 
was, that the Divine theocracy was terminated by the anointing of 
Saul as king over the children of Israel, between B. C. 1095 and 1055, 
into which office he was afterwards inauguratad at Gilgal. 

The circuit of Saul in search of the stray asses of his father, which 
brought him to Samuel, by whom he was anointed king, is involved 
in inextricable difficulties. Shalisha, Shalim, and Zuph (1 Sam. 

* Robinson's Researches, vol. ii. 140. 
16* 



186 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

ix. 4, 5), Zelzah and the plain of Tabor (1 Sam. x. 2, 3), are alike 
unknown. 

Within the period B. c. 1095 and 1055 occurred Saul's first mili- 
tary expedition, for the relief of the men of Jabesh-Gilead, against 
the Ammonites. This town was situated about twenty miles below 
the sea of Galilee, and a little east of Jordan. With incredible 
expedition Saul mustered an army of 300,000 at Bezek, apparently 
on the Jordan opposite Jabesh-Gilead; and, by the total defeat of 
the Ammonites, established himself in the confidence of the people 
as their king. (1 Sam. xi.) 

While Saul was at Gilgal, the Philistines, those hereditary foes 
of his people, came up and pitched in Michmash, nine miles north of 
Jerusalem, with a formidable array of chariots and horsemen, and 
" people as the sand which is on the sea-shore for multitude." The 
people, in dismay, withdrew from Saul into concealment ; and he, 
impatient for the coming of Samuel, committed a great trespass by 
presuming himself to offer sacrifice, for which offence he was assured 
that the sceptre should depart from his family. 

With only six hundred trusty adherents he returned to Gibeah, 
which is here the same as Gebab, two or three miles south of Mich- 
mash, from which it is separated by a deep valley, running eastward 
towards Jordan, with steep precipitous sides, which is " the passage 
of Michmash." While lingering at Michmash, the Philistines sent 
out companies of spoilers northwards, towards Ophrah ; westward, 
towards Beth-horon ; and eastwards, towards the wilderness and the 
unknown valley of Zeboim. (1 Sam. xiii.) 

In the deep valley between Gibeah and Michmash are two remark- 
able hills, one on each side of the valley, standing out from the pre- 
cipitous walls, of a conical, or rather spherical form, according to Dr. 
Bobinson, with steep rocky sides. Shubert describes them as of a 
sugar-loaf form. These must be Bozez and Seneh, the seat of Jona- 
than's bold adventure, which resulted in the flight of the Philistines 
towards Ajalon, west-by-south from Michmash, in the course of which 
retreat many thousands of them were slain. (1 Sam. xiv. 1 — 46.) 

Saul, having regained the confidence of his people, and succeeeded 
in collecting arms for his men, now wages war with his enemies on 
every side. Beyond Jordan, east and south of the Dead Sea, he ex- 
tends his conquests over Ammon, Moab, and Edom. 

Against his northern enemies, the kings of Zobah, in Mesopotamia, 
he also wages successful warfare, as far as the Euphrates. (1 Sam. 
xiv. 47, 48.) 

Next he .turns his arms against the Amalekites, in the south of 
Palestine, those ancient, marauding, hereditary enemies of the He- 
brews, who had been predestined to destruction. (Ex. xvii. 14; 
Deut. xxv. 18.) 

Instead of utterly exterminating these he retains the best of the 



DAVID ANOINTED AT BETHLEHEM. 187 

cattle for booty, and after erecting a vain monument of his victory at 
Carmel, brings back Agag, their king, as a prisoner to Gilgal, with 
the best of the sheep and of the oxen for sacrifice. For this neglect 
of the Divine command, the prophetic decree of the exclusion of his 
descendants was again and irrevocably pronounced by Samuel. (1 
Sam. xv.) 

David anointed at Bethlehem. 

After this prophetic denunciation against Saul, Samuel, by Divine 
direction, proceeded to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint 
David, now a youth of eighteen or twenty years of age, king over 
Israel, B. c. 1063 — 1056. This circumstance offers a suitable occa- 
sion for bringing into notice this town, so distinguished, not merely 
as the residence of David, but as the birth-place of David's Royal 
Son, the King of Glory, the Lord our Saviour and Redeemer. 

Bethlehem is six miles from Jerusalem, a little west of south. It 
was called Bethlehem-Judah to distinguish it from another Beth- 
lehem in Zebulun. (Josh. xix. 15; Judges xii. 10.) It is also 
called Ephratah, the fruitful, and its inhabitants Ephrathites. (Gen. 
xlviii. 7; Mich. v. 2.) It was the scene of the book of Ruth, the 
birth-place of David, and of his celebrated nephews, Joab, Abishai, 
and Asahel, and was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. 6) ; but is 
for ever memorable as having given birth to the Saviour of the world. 

Bethlehem has been visited by innumerable travellers, and been 
often described. We have selected the following description from 
the travels of Dr. Olin : — 

" The first appearance of Bethlehem is very striking, in whatever 
direction it is approached. It is built upon a ridge of considerable 
elevation, which has a rapid descent to the north and east. The 
width of the town is very inconsiderable, in some places hardly ex- 
ceeding that of a single street. From the gate at the western 
extremity to the convent which occupies the eastern, the distance 
may be half a mile. The first part of the way the street descends 
rapidly; further on, and especially near the convent, it becomes tole- 
rably level. 

" The houses are solidly, though roughly built, of the lime-stone 
of which this whole region is composed ; but a large part of them 
are in a very dilapidated state, and uninhabited. A number are 
without a roof; of others, the walls are in a ruinous condition. 

" The streets are narrow, and, though paved, are almost impassable 
for a horse. 

" The inhabitants are all Christians, the Mohammedans having 
been expelled and their houses broken down by Ibrahim Pacha, 
during the insurrection of 1834. I could not ascertain what is the 
probable population, though, from the extent of the town and the 
number of houses, it might contain from two to three thousand peo- 



188 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

pie; yet I have seen them estimated at not more than two or three 
hundred. This is certainly much below the real number. 

" The environs of Bethlehem are beautiful, but they cannot be said 
to be well cultivated. There is, indeed, no good tillage in this 
country, though the best is perhaps about this ancient town. The 
soil is fertile, but it is encumbered with rocks, and the hills and val- 
leys are covered to a considerable distance with figs, olives, pome- 
granates, and vineyards. 

" The deep valley on the northern side of the town, which is 
overlooked by the road leading to Jerusalem, presents a scene of 
beauty and luxuriance unrivalled, so far as I have yet seen in Pales- 
tine. The hill-sides by which it is bounded are terraced with great 
labour and care, and covered with fine fruit trees. This delicious 
spot may perhaps be taken as a specimen of the general appearance of 
the hill country in the prosperous days of the Jewish state, and of 
what it might once more become under the fostering care of a gcod 
government, and of an industrious, civilized population. 

" The Convent of the Nativity, which covers the spot where it is 
believed our blessed Lord was born, is situated at the eastern end of 
the town, and is by far the most conspicuous object which it contains. 
It is a very extensive stone edifice, irregular in its plan, from having 
been constructed a piece at a time, and at various distant eras. The 
church, and, probably, some other parts of this immense pile, were 
built by the Empress Helena. 

" After passing through the low door and a sort of ante-chamber, 
we enter the ancient church built by Helena. This is a magnificent 
structure, though now in a neglected and semi-ruinous state. It is 
thirty-four paces long and thirty broad, ornamented with forty-eight 
monolith columns of the Corinthian order, arranged in four rows of 
twelve columns each. The columns are about two and a half feet in 
diameter by more than twenty feet in height. 

" This church was once richly adorned with paintings and mosaic, 
of which only a few mutilated figures remain. The pavement is out 
of repair. The roof is of wood, and the naked, rough frame work 
which supports it has a bad effect, and is quite unworthy of the fine 
structure which it surmounts. This roof I take to be a restoration, 
rendered necessary by some casualty, and made in days of adversity. 

" The church seems at present to be merely an outer court, a sort 
of thoroughfare, through which entrance is gained into the smaller 
churches and the apartments of the convent. A wall has been erected 
across it, nearer the eastern end, which cuts off a considerable area 
that has been converted into two small churches or chapels, where 
the Greeks and Armenians perform their respective rites. The 
Latins have a separate church in the convent, situated a little further 
north/ 7 

The manger of the nativity, tradition assigns to a grotto under 



CAVE OP ADULLAM. 189 

the Greek chapel. It appears to have been a natural cavern about 
twelve paces in length by four in breadth. What confidence is due 
to these traditions is questionable, but they are of long continuance, 
and have been generally believed. 

David and Goliath. 

Our attention is next directed to the scene of the combat between 
David and Goliath. This was in the valley of Elah, now Wady Es- 
Sumt, about fifteen miles south-west from Jerusalem on the road to 
Askalon, in the borders of the mountains of Judah and the great 
western plain. 

It was visited by Dr. Eobinson, who describes it as a fine fertile 
valley, with moderate hills on each side. " We now pursued our 
way down this valley, rejoicing in having thus been able to discover 
and visit the spot where the youthful warrior and poet, in firm 
reliance on the God of Israel, made his first glorious essay as the 
champion of his people."* (1 Sam. xvii.) 

This valley took its name from the terebinth tree of which Dr. 
Eobinson saw a noble specimen in this vicinity. 

The advancement of David to be armour-bearer to Saul, and then 
a minstrel to soothe him with music in his fits of morbid melancholy 
and jealousy; the repeated expeditions of David against the Philis- 
tines; his marriage with the king's daughter, and the affection of 
Jonathan for him; his visit to Samuel at Naioth, supposed to be 
Samuel's residence in Eamah ; and his departure from the court of 
Saul — all these eventful incidents in the life of David occupied ap- 
parently the space of only a few months. (1 Sam. xviii.-xx.) 

The City of Nob. 

Nob, the city of the priests who were slain by the treachery of 
Doeg, the Edomite, must have been in the immediate neighbourhood 
of Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, or a continuation of this 
ridge, a little north of this summit and north-east of the city ; but 
no trace of it has yet been discovered. (1 Sam. xxi. ; xxii. 9 — 20.) 
Gath, to which David fled, has been described, p. 183. Though 
hospitably entertained by Achish, he escaped the resentment of the 
lords of the Philistines by feigning madness, and hastily withdrew 
to the cave of Adullam, where he was visited by his kindred. 

Cave of Adullam. 

About six miles south-west from Bethlehem there is an immense 
natural cavern, the mouth of which can only be approached on foot, 
along the side of steep cliffs; this, with some probability, is as- 

* Researches, vol. ii. 350. 



190 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

sumed to be the cave in question. According to the description of 
Irby and Mangles, it runs in by a long, winding, narrow passage, 
with small chambers or cavities on either side. 

" We soon came to a large chamber with natural arches of a great 
height ) from this last there were numerous passages, leading in all 
directions, occasionally joined by others at right angles, and forming 
a perfect labyrinth, which our guides assured us had never been 
thoroughly explored ; the people being afraid of losing themselves. 

" The passages were generally four feet high, by three feet wide, 
and were all on a level with each other. There were a few petrifac- 
tions where we were ; nevertheless the grotto was perfectly clear, and 
the air pure and good."* 

David next retires with his relatives and friends, and four hundred 
Hebrew malcontents to Moab, beyond Jordan ; but, at the suggestion 
of the prophet Gad, soon returns again to his own country, to the 
forest of Hareth, supposed to have been in the south of Judah, but 
the precise situation is unknown. (1 Sam. xxii. 5.) 

Keilah. 

From thence he proceeds to the relief of the inhabitants of 
Keilah against the Philistines. 

This town was about twenty miles south-west from Jerusalem, on 
the southern plains of Judah. (1 Sam. xxiii. 1 — 13.) It was, 
according to an ancient tradition, the burial-place of the prophet 
Habakkuk. 

Wilderness of Ziph. 

To escape from the persecution of Saul, David retires from this 
ungrateful city to the Wilderness of Ziph. This has been recog- 
nized by Dr. Robinson about four miles and a half south-by-east 
from Hebron. Ruins, consisting of broken walls and foundations, 
chiefly of unhewn stones, indicate, perhaps, the position of the 
strongholds among which David sought protection from Saul, and 
where he had an affectionate interview with Jonathan. (1 Sam. 
xxiii. 13—18.) 

Maon. 

Compelled by the treachery of the Ziphites to withdraw, he retired 
to the mountains of Maon, a few miles further south. (1 Sam. 
xxiii. 19 — 29.) This place is identified by a few foundations of 
hewn stones, the ruins of a small tower or castle, and several cis- 
terns on a high conical hill, which commands a wide prospect of the 
surrounding country. 

* Researches, vol. iii. 15. 



EN-GEDI — NABAL, OF CARMEL. 191 

. En-G-edi. 

From this place lie proceeded north to the Wilderness of En-gedi, 
on the western shore of the Dead Sea, and near the centre of the 
coast from north to south. 

Here again we are indebted to Dr. Robinson for a description of 
this wilderness. The country is everywhere of limestone formation, 
with a large mixture of chalk and flint. The surface is broken into 
conical hills and ridges, from two hundred to four hundred feet in 
height, and gradually sloping towards the Dead Sea. Some stinted 
shrubs are found in the highest part of the wilderness ; further 
down, occasionally a little grass is seen, and then to a great extent 
the aspect is only that of utter sterility and desolation. 

" In the course of the day we had already started a gazelle ; and 
had seen also a jackal, which at a distance might be mistaken for a 
fox; though his colour is more yellow, and his movements less wily. 
As we now came in view of the ravine of the Ghor, a beden (moun- 
tain-goat) started up and bounded along the face of the rocks on the 
opposite side. 

" Indeed, we were now in the l Wilderness of En-gedi f where 
David and his men lived among i the rocks of the wild-goats f and 
where the former cut off the skirts of Saul's robe in a cave. (1 Sam. 
xxiv. 1 — 4.) The whole scene is drawn to the life. On all sides 
the country is full of caverns, which might then serve as lurking- 
places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present 
day."* 

Nabal, of Carmel. 

The adventure of David with Nabal, the rich churl of Carmel, 
next invites our attention. (1 Sam. xxv.) Carmel was situated 
midway between Ziph and Maon. A castle, a church, a reservoir, 
and many foundations and broken walls, attest the ancient strength 
of this place. Its site was a semicircular amphitheatre, around the 
head'of a valley which falls away to the eastward of the town. 

u We were here in the midst of scenes memorable of old for the 
adventures of David, during his wanderings in order to escape from 
the jealousy of Saul ; and we did not fail to peruse here, and with 
the deepest interest, the chapters of Scripture which record the his- 
tory of those wanderings and adventures. (1 Sam. xxiii. 13, seq. ; 
xxiv., xxv., xxvi.) Ziph and Maon gave their names to the desert 
on the east, as did also En-gedi ; and twice did the inhabitants of 
Ziph attempt to betray the youthful outlaw to the vengeance of his 
persecutor. (1 Sam. xxiii. 19; xxvi. 1.) 

u At that time David and his men appear to have been very much 

* Researches, vol. ii. 203. 



192 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

in the condition of similar outlaws at the present day; for 'every 
one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every 
one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him ; and he 
became a captain over them ; and there were with him about four 
hundred men.' (1 Sam. xxii. 2.) They lurked in these deserts, 
associating with the herdsmen and shepherds of Nabal and others, 
and doing them good offices, probably in return for information and 
supplies obtained through them. (1 Sam. xxv. 7, 14 — 16.) 

" Hence, when Nabal held his annual sheep-shearing in Carmel, 
David felt himself entitled to share in the festival; and sent a mes- 
senger recounting his own services, and asking for a present : 
6 Wherefore let the young men find favour in thine eyes ; for we 
come in a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thine 
hand, unto thy servants, and to thy son David/ (1 Sam. xxv. 8, 9.) 

" In all these particulars we were deeply struck with the truth and 
strength of the biblical descriptions of manners and customs, almost 
identically the same as they exist at the present day: On such a 
festive occasion, near a town or village, even in our time, an Arab 
sheikh of the neighbouring desert would hardly fail to put in a word, 
either in person or by message ; and his message, both in form and 
substance would be only the transcript of that of David."* 

Hachilah, before Jeshimon, where David a second time spared the 
life of Saul, was in this neighbourhood, in or near the wilderness of 
Ziph; but its precise location has not been ascertained. (1 Sam. 
xxvi.) 

ZlKLAG. 

Disheartened by this continual conflict with Saul, David once 
more threw himself upon the protection of Achish, king of Gath, 
by whom he was kindly received, and quartered, with his men, upon 
Ziklag, a neighbouring town, which in the division of the land was 
first allotted to Judah, then to Simeon, but had always remained in 
the possession of the Philistines. Here David continued a year and 
four months ; during which time he made several successful expedi- 
tions against the marauding tribes of the desert on the south of 
Judah. (1 Sam. xxvi.) 

Death of Saul. 

The Philistines again engage in war with the Israelites, and muster 
their hosts at Shunem, in that great battle-field of nations, the 
eastern part of the plain of Esdraelon, in the north of Palestine. 
Saul's forces were in Gilboa, a little south of Shunem. 

Perplexed, disquieted, and forsaken of God, he passes secretly 
around Shunem and Mount Hermon on the north, to consult, in 

* Robinson's Researches, vol. ii. 200 — 1. 



DEATH OP SAUL. 193 

disguise, a woman that had a familiar spirit living at Endor, in the 
valley at the northern base of this mountain. (1 Sam. xxviii.) 

David accompanied Achish in this military expedition, but was 
mercifully prevented, by the distrust of the lords of the Philistines, 
from engaging in battle against his own people, and returned with 
his men to Ziklag. (1 Sam. xxix.) 

In his absence a party of Amalekites has come up from the desert 
through the south of Judah, to Ziklag, which they have burnt, and 
retired again into the solitude of the desert, with great booty gathered 
from this pillaging excursion. 

David, encouraged by the Lord, immediately goes in pursuit of 
these robbers ) succeeds in recovering his wives \ and gathers much 
spoil, which he distributes in presents to the cities bordering on the 
desert in the neighbourhood of Maon, Carmel, and Hebron, which 
he and his men were wont to frequent. 

Bethel and South Ramoth were also remembered by him in this 
distribution. "With the former of these cities we have already 
become familiar. The latter is unknown. (1 Sam. xxx.) 

In the mean time the army of Saul had been totally defeated by 
the Philistines, in the valley of Jezreel, between Hermon and 
Gilboa. In this battle he and his sons were slain (1 Sam. xxxi.) ; 
which gave rise to David's pathetic lamentation over Saul and Jona- 
than. (2 Sam. i. 17—27.) 

The Philistines sent the head of Saul, and his armour, in triumph 
round about their cities, to be exhibited before their idols ; but the 
bodies of him and his sons they hung up in Bethshan, at the eastern 
extremity of Jezreel near Jordan ; from whence they were taken by 
the men of Jabesh-Grilead, beyond Jordan, and decently interred. 
Thus ended the short and unhappy reign of Saul, the first king of 
the Hebrews, b. c. 1056. According to our chronologists, he reigned 
about seven years. 



17 



CHAPTER XI. 

David as King. 

b. c. 1055—1015. 

David now establishes himself at Hebron; and Abner, at Maha- 
naim, beyond Jordan, proclaims Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, king over 
Israel. Thus begins a civil war between these rival claimants of the 
throne. (2 Sam. ii.) 

Abner soon transfers his forces to Gibeon, near Gibeah, the seat 
of SauTs kingdom, where they are met by Joab at the head of Da- 
vid's men. Here the challenge of Abner to Joab brings defeat upon 
him and his party. (2 Sam. ii.) Giah, near the wilderness of Gibeon, 
must have been near the city itself (2 Sam. ii. 24), but nothing is 
known of it. The same is true of the district or pass of Bithron, 
through which Abner retreats to Mahanaim. (2 Sam. ii. 29.) 

Laish, from whence David, by the agency of Abner, recovered his 
wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul, has already fallen under our 
notice as Dan, in the north of Palestine. Bahurim, to which her 
husband followed her, weeping, is near Jerusalem, just east of the 
Mount of Olives, where also Shimei cursed David in his flight from 
Absalom. (2 Sam. iii. 16 ; xvi. 5.) 

Beeroth, the native place of Baanah and Rechab, the assassins of 
Ish-bosheth (2 Sam. iv. 2), was seven miles north of Jerusalem. 

After a reign of seven and a half years at Hebron, David takes 
Jerusalem, b. c. 1048, from the Jebusites, and makes it the seat of 
his kingdom. 

Valley of Rephaim. 

Soon after this the Philistines are thrice defeated in the valley of 
Rephaim. (2 Sam. v. 17 — 25.) This is a broad plain lying just 
without the walls of the city, towards the south-west, which at a little 
distance contracts into a narrow valley, or defile, running off through 
the mountains to the land of the Philistines. 

In the second instance, he compassed them in the rear, so that 
they retired before David to Geba, a few miles north of Jerusalem. 
From thence they were pursued by David across the country west- 
ward to Gazer, near the northern limits of their own country. 

(194) 



VALLEY OF SALT. 195 



Removal of the Ark. 

The Ark is now removed, witfh great formality and peculiar fes- 
tivities, from Kirjath-jearim to its final abode in the city of David, 
after having remained in that city sixty-eight years. (2 Sam. vi.) 

Conquests of David. 

The conquests of David are now swept with great rapidity over the 
neighbouring kingdoms, north and east of Palestine. The Syrians 
of Damascus : Zobah, the country extending from the region of Da- 
mascus to the river Euphrates ) Amnon and Moab, east of Jordan 
and the Dead Sea; and Edom, still further south, in quick succes- 
sion yield to his conquering arms, and become garrisoned provinces 
of his extended kingdom. 

Valley of Salt. 

David, in this military expedition to Northern Syria, greatly en- 
riched himself with various treasures, which he dedicated to the 
Lord, and " gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the 
Syrians in the valley of salt, being eighteen thousand men." (2 Sam. 
viii. 13.) We are indebted to Mr. Thompson for a lively and gra- 
phic description of this remarkable locality, which hitherto has been 
but little known, and seldom visited by European travellers. It is 
some distance above Hamath, and twenty-four miles south-east of 
Aleppo. The incrustations which are gathered here are carried to a 
neighbouring village, where they are sorted, dried, winnowed, and 
sold to all parts of the country. 

This vale of salt is the most extraordinary place that I have yet 
visited. There was the shore, a short distance in advance of us, as 
distinctly marked as that of the ocean ; but what was my surprise 
not to find one drop of water — nothing but a boundless extension of 
incrusted salt ! 

" A vast expanse of glassy salt, glowing in the burning sun of 
August — an oppressive, saddening, dismal brightness. I have rarely 
felt such a sadness at heart as when steeped, drenched in this flood 
of glory. The very atmosphere trembled, and simmered, and qui- 
vered, as if it were molten silver. The excess of brightness was ter- 
rible, and the total silence and utter absence of any manifestation of 
life, were oppressive. It is a vale of utter death, polished and burn- 
ished into intolerable and horrid splendour. It is four days' ride in 
circumference. 

" In winter this whole region is actually a lake, with its margin as 
accurately defined as any other, but by August the water has all 
evaporated, and a crust of white, coarse-grained salt has been de- 
posited over the entire surface. I nowhere saw this crust thicker 



196 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

than half an inch. The quantity, however, depends, upon the amount 
of rain during winter, and it is said, sometimes, and in certain places, 
to be several inches thick/' 

On the south-eastern margin of this vale, our traveller was informed 
that very extensive ruins are found, which bear the name of Zobah 
or Zebeh. This place he supposes marks the site of Hadadezer's 
capital, which David took and destroyed. From this region to the 
Euphrates it is " without inhabitants/' 

Lo-debar, from whence David called to his court Mephibosheth, 
the only surviving son of Jonathan, was in Gilead, beyond Jordan, 
not far from Mahanaim. (2 Sam. ix. ; xvii. 27.) 

Northern Confederacy. 

The insult of the children of Ammon next engages David in war 
with them, who unite the Syrians on the northern frontiers of Pales- 
tine in a formidable confederacy against him. These petty states of 
Syria were in the neighbourhood of Damascus, Maachah on the 
north, and Zobah. 

Beth-rehob was south-west from Damascus, near Mount Hermon. 
The position of Ish-tob cannot be defined. 

These, in connection with Ammon, must have formed a vast army 
at Medeba, seven miles south of Heshbon, and about twice that dis- 
tance east of the northern part of the Dead Sea. (2 Sam. x.; 1 Chron. 
xix.) Medeba still retains its ancient name. It lies now in utter 
ruins, spread over a round hill, one mile and a half in circuit. 

Expedition against the Syrians. 

The Syrians, the determined foes of the Jews, again rally, against 
whom David himself goes forth to battle at Helam, which, as the 
narrative indicates, must have been near the Euphrates. (2 Sam. 
x. 15—19.) 

Death of Uriah. 

The tragical death of Uriah, in consequence of David's sin with 
Bath-sheba, occurred at Rabbah, in Ammon, some twenty miles east- 
north-east from Jericho, beyond Jordan. (2 Sam. xi., xii.; 1 Chron. 
xx. 1—4.) 

Death of Ammon. 

Absalom, after assassinating his brother Ammon, took refuge with 
Talmai, king of Geshur. (2 Sam. iii. 3; xiii.) Where then was 
Geshur ? It was on the river Jordan, between Mount Hermon and 
the sea of Tiberias, on the northern boundary of the territory beyond 
Jordan. In this vicinity, on the road to Damascus, there is a very 
ancient stone bridge, which may perhaps mark the situation of 
Geshur. 



TEKOAH — REBELLION OE ABSALOM. 197 



Tekoah. 

From Geshur, Absalom, after an absence of three years, was 
recalled at the intercession of the " wise woman " of Tekoah. (2 Sam. 
xiv.) This town was situated twelve miles south from Jerusalem, 
on an eminence commanding an extensive prospect, and overlook- 
ing at various points the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab 
beyond. 

Tekoah was fortified by Rehoboam, and distinguished as the birth- 
place of the prophet Amos. It also gave a name to the desert 
region lying east of it towards the Dead Sea. The ruins of the 
place cover an extent of several acres, and consist of the foundations 
of houses, the remains of an ancient tower or castle, and a Greek 
church. 

Rebellion oe Absalom. 

On his return, Absalom began his treasonable designs against the 
king, his father. After four years, which is assumed as the true 
reading of 2 Sam. xv. 7, Absalom openly begins his rebellion at 
Hebron, and soon advances to Jerusalem. David, in the mean time, 
passes out at the eastern gate of the city; and crossing the brook 
Kidron, in the valley below, ascends the Mount of Olives, barefoot, 
and having his head covered, and weeping, he goes on in his flight 
towards Jordan. 

Just beyond this mount, at Bahurim, he meekly receives the 
revilings of Shimei ; "and, pursuing his journey, crosses the Jordan, 
apparently at some distance beyond Jericho, and makes a stand 
against his rebellious son at Mahanaim, in Gilead, where Ish-bosheth 
formerly held his court. (2 Sam. xv., xvi., xvii.) 

The wood of Ephraim, where the battle between the forces of 
Absalom and David was fought, is supposed to have been east of 
Jordan, near Mahanaim. (2 Sam. xviii.) The Jewish rabbins allege 
that it received this name from the circumstance that the Ephraim- 
ites, whose territory extended down to the opposite banks of the Jor- 
dan, were accustomed to send their herds and flocks over the river 
for pasturage. 

Others are of opinion that the contending parties passed over into 
the territory of Ephraim before they engaged in battle. David, 
however, is beyond Jordan again after the battle ; and, on his tri- 
umphant return to Jerusalem, is met by the men of Judah at Gilgal, 
to conduct him over Jordan. (2 Sam. xix. 15.) This seems to in- 
dicate that, in his exile, he has remained at Mahanaim, and that the 
battle was fought near that place. 
17* 



198 scripture geography. 

Abel of Beth-Maachah. 

Abel of Beth-Maachah, where Sheba posted himself in his revolt 
from David, was in the north of Palestine, a short distance north- 
west of the waters of Merom, in the territory of Naphtali. (2 Sam. 
xx.) It appears to have been a walled city of importance. Eighty 
years afterwards, it was taken and sacked by Ben-hadad, king of 
Syria (1 Kings xv. 20 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 4.) ; and two hundred years 
subsequently by Tiglath-Pileser, who sent away the inhabitants cap- 
tive to Assyria. (2 Kings xv. 29.) 

Of Zelah, the burial-place of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. xxi. 
14), nothing more is known than is mentioned in the Scriptures, 
that it was in Benjamin. 

The situation of Gob, the scene of two battles (2 Sam. xxi. 18, 
19) with the Philistines, is entirely lost. In the parallel passage in 
Chronicles, it is called Gezer. (1 Chron. xx. 4.) Wieland suggests 
that it may have been Grath. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Syria, including Phcenicia. 

Syria. 

L Syria (fj Xvpla) was the Greek and Roman name for that coun- 
try of Asia which forms the whole or a part of the district called in 
the Bible Aram. By the Europeans it is still called Syria, but the 
Asiatics term it Belad el Sham, or " the country to the left." The 
Mohammedans of Mecca direct their faces to the rising sun when 
they pray, and then Syria is to their left. 

II. In the most usual application of the word, Syria was the dis- 
trict bounded on the north by the range of Amdnus, on the west by 
the Mediterranean, on the east by the Euphrates, and Arabia, and 
on the south by Arabia and Egypt The name Syria is probably a 
shortened form of Assyria. 

III. The Syrians (not including the inhabitants of Phcenicia and 
Palestine under the name) derived their descent from Aram, the 
youngest son of Seth. The earliest records represent Syria as con- 
sisting of a number of independent kingdoms. The conquests of 
David brought these into subjection to the kingdom of Israel; but 
they again became independent at the close of Solomon's reign, 
B. c. 975. The kingdom of Damascus became by degrees espe- 
cially powerful. This kingdom was overthrown by the Assyrians, 
and from this time Syria formed in succession a part of the Assyrian, 
Babylonian, Persian, and Macedonian empires. After the battle of 
Ipsus (b. c. 301), Syria, with the exception of Ccele-Syria and Pales-, 
tine, fell to the share of Seleucus Nicator, and henceforth it became 
the central portion of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, its capital being 
Antiocha. It was declared a Roman province by Pompey in the 
year b. c. 65. 

IV. The situation of Syria is peculiar. This country may be re- 
garded as an isthmus, separating a sea of water (the Mediterranean) 
from a sea of sand (the desert of Arabia). It was well watered by 
numerous small streams ; but the only large river was the Orontes 
or Axius, now the Aasi, rising in Mount Libanus, and flowing from 
south to north. The products of ancient Syria were corn, fruits of 
various kinds, oil, wine, cedarwood from Libanus, fuller's earth, &c. 

V. Under the Macedonian kings, Syria was divided into four 
parts, or tetrarchies, which were named after their capitals, Antio- 
chla, Seleucla, Apamea, Laodicea. Both the Greeks and Romans, 

(199) 



200 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

however, called the northern part of Syria, that is, the whole of the 
country with the exception of Ccele-Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine, 
by the general name of Upper Syria {Syria Superior), to distin- 
guish it from Code- Syria or Hollow Syria, which was the name 
given to the valley between the ridges of Libanus and Anti-Libanus. 
Under the Romans, Upper Syria was divided into nine districts, 
namely, Cassiotes, Apamene, Chalcidice, Seleucis, Pieria, Comma' 
gene, Cyrrhestlce, Chalybonitis, and Palmyrene. 

Ccele-Syria. 

Code- Syria (% xoay Svpla), or " Hollow Syria," comprised the 
valley between the mountain chains of Libanus and Anti-Libanus. 
The name took its rise under the Seleucidae : for in earlier times it 
formed part of the kingdom of Damascus ; then, under David and 
Solomon, a part of the kingdom of Israel ; and from the time of 
Cyrus to that of Alexander the Great, a part of the Persian mo- 
narchy. Under the later Roman emperors the name was no longer 
used, this country being incorporated as a province with Phoenicia 
Libani. Ccele-Syria is now called Ul-Bitkaah, or "the valley." 
Its average width is fifteen miles. 

Places in Ccele-Syria. 

I. Damascus (the Dammesek of Scripture) is at the foot of the 
range of Anti-Libanus, in a beautiful and extensive plain, watered 
by the Bardines or Chrysorrhoas and its branches. This river is 
thought to be the Pharphar of the Bible. Damascus is one of the 
most ancient cities in the world, and existed as early as the days of 
Abraham; and though often taken, and devastated, it has always 
risen again and flourished. Under Diocletian several manufactories 
of arms were established here ; and it is probable that the high repu- 
tation to which it afterwards attained for its sword-blades may have 
had its first foundations laid in this arrangement of the Roman em- 
peror. Damascus was also made at this time a general depot for 
munitions of war, and a military post against the inroads of the east- 
ern nations. Under Julian it became a magnificent city; and in the 
seventh century it was for some time the seat of the caliphs. All 
modern travellers speak of its delightful situation. The natives call 
it Es-sham, or Syria, according to the practice of designating the 
chief town by the name of the country itself. 

This city lies in a plain east of Anti-Libanus, about fifty miles 
from the Mediterranean, and one hundred and fifty north by east 
from Jerusalem. In the midst of surrounding sterility, the city 
itself is embosomed in gardens and orchards of surpassing richness, 
and overshadowed with the deepest verdure and richest luxuriance 
of Oriental foliage. 

It is a charming oasis in a desert— a terrestrial paradise— the ad* 



SYRIA, INCLUDING PHCENICIA. 201 

miration of every traveller. " Oh ! how lovely/' exclaims Lord 
Lindsay, "the city with her picturesque minarets, sailing like a fleet 
through a sea of verdure \" It is fabled of Mohammed, that when 
he looked at it, he exclaimed, " Man can have only one paradise — I 
shall not enter this below, lest I should have none above." 

" I was riding at the head of the caravan, at a few paces behind 
the Arabs of Zebdami. They suddenly stopped short, and uttering 
exclamations of joy, pointed to an opening in the rock to our right ; 
I approached, and -looking through the cleft, I beheld the grandest 
and most singular prospect that ever presented itself to the eye of 
man. It was Damascus and its boundless desert, lying at the depth 
of a few hundred feet below us. 

" The city, surrounded by its ramparts of black and yellow marble, 
flanked by its innumerable square towers, crowned by sculptured 
cranies, commanded by its forests of minarets of every form, and in- 
tersected by the seven branches of its river and its numberless 
streams, extended as far as the eye could reach. It was a labyrinth 
of gardens and flowers, thrusting its suburbs here and there in the 
vast plain, encircled by its forest of ten leagues in circumference, 
and everywhere shaded by groves of sycamores and trees of every 
form and hue. 

" From time to time the city seemed lost beneath the umbrageous 
canopies of these trees, and then again reappeared, spreading into 
broad lakes of houses, suburbs, and villages, interspersed with laby- 
rinths of orchards, palaces, and streamlets. Our eyes were bewil- 
dered, and only turned from one enchantment to fix upon another. 

" I understand that Arabian traditions represent this city and its 
neighbourhood to form the site of the lost Paradise ; and certainly 
I should think that no place upon earth was better calculated to 
answer one's idea of Eden. 

u The vast and fruitful plain, with the seven branches of the blue 
stream which irrigates it; the majestic framework of the mountains; 
the glittering lakes which reflect the heaven upon the earth ; its geo- 
graphical situation between the two seas ; the perfection of the cli- 
mate; everything indicates that Damascus has at least been one of 
the first towns that were ever built by the children of men — one of 
the natural halts of fugitive humanity in primeval times. It is in 
fact one of those sites pointed out by the hand of God for a city — a 
site predestined to sustain a capital, like Constantinople. These are 
perhaps the only two cities which could not possibly have taken their 
post in an empire from arbitrary selection; but which were palpably 
indicated by the configuration of the places. So long as the earth 
shall bear empires on her surface, Damascus will continue to be a 
great city, and Stamboul the metropolis of the world. 

"On emerging from the desert, and entering on the plains of 
Ccele-Syria, and the valleys of Galilee, the caravans of India need 



202 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

repose — and they find a spot of enchantment at Damascus. Commerce 
is there upheld by industry. Damascus is, like Lyons, one vast 
manufactory. Its population, according to some, reaches 400,000 
souls; according to others, only 200,000." * 

This scene of loveliness is created by the fertilizing influence of 
the river Barada, formed by the union of two streams, one of which 
is reputed to be the ancient Abana. 

The Abana, one of the rivers of Damascus, springs from the lofty 
sides of Lebanon, a few miles north-west of the city, and rushes down 
a rapid descent of a thousand feet into the plains below. 

Pharphar, the modern A'waj, rises from a lower ridge of the lofty 
Hermon, more remote than the sources of Abana, and in a direction 
west-by-south from Damascus. One of its sources is a singular 
syphon fountain, which issues from a low cave beneath a hill of 
pudding-stone. At certain periods of the year it is said to rise from 
a great depth in the earth, throwing out, with a noise like the roar 
of cannon, great quantities of fish in a torrent of blood-red water. 
It is described as a fine " rapid stream, flowing eastward towards Da- 
mascus, which being increased by others in its course, forms the 
Pharphar, one of those rivers which have ever been the pride of the 
Damascenes." 

Damascus has been from time immemorial a place of immense 
travel and trade between countries north and south, and east and 
west of it; by which means it has accumulated great wealth. 

Many houses of its merchants, though presenting a rude and un- 
interesting exterior, to disguise the wealth within, are fitted up in the 
interior in a style of princely magnificence. 

It was a flourishing city in the days of Abraham, in whose history 
it first comes into notice, as the native place of his faithful and pious 
servant, Eliezer. It is probably the oldest inhabited city in the world. 

It was the capital of the Syrians, those early invaders and lasting 
foes of the Israelites. It still has a long street, running more than 
a mile in a direct line through the city, well corresponding to the 
street called "Straight" in the days of the Apostles. (Acts ix. 11.) 

The city is for ever memorable for that marvellous vision of the 
Son of God, which at her gates burst upon Saul the persecutor, ac- 
companied with the startling cry — " Saul, Saul ! why persecutest 
thou me ?" which caused him to fall, trembling and astonished to 
the earth, and to exclaim, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do V* 
(Acts ix. 6; xxii. 10.) 

II. Heliopolis, to the north-west, called by the Syrians Baalbec, 
and now Balbec. The Syriac name is supposed to mean u the city 
(or house) of Baal," of which the Greek Heliopolis is a mere trans- 
lation. By Baal, in Asiatic idolatry, was originally meant the Lord 

* Lamartine, vol. ii. 113-115, 133, 134. 



SKETCH OP PH(ENICIAN HISTORY. 203 

of the Universe, of whom the Sun was subsequently taken as the 
type. Heliopolis was famed for its temple of Jupiter, erected by 
Antoninus Pius, magnificent ruins of which still remain. Venus 
was also revered in this city, and its maidens were therefore said to 
be the fairest in the land. By Venus is here meant the Syrian 
Astarte. 

III. Aphaca, to the north-west, in the mountain range of Libanus, 
having a celebrated temple of Venus (Astarte), near which was a 
lake, the waters of which were fabled to have the property of keeping 
even the heaviest bodies, when thrown therein, from sinking. The 
temple was destroyed by Constantine the Great. The ruins of the 
city are at a place called Afka. 

IV. Laodicea ad Libanum, to the north-east, founded by Seleucus 
Nicator. It lay in the plain watered by and named after the River 
Marsyas, a tributary of the Orontes. The Romans made it the 
chief city of the district. It was also called Laodicea Scabiosa, for 
which Ptolemy gives Cabiosa. 

Phoenicia. 

Phoenicia j in Greek, ^owixri (Phamice), extended along the coast 
of Syria, from the river Eleutheras, and the city and island of 
Aradus, on the north, to the river Chorseus, near Coesarea, at the 
foot of Mount Carmel, in the south. The length, therefore, was 
only thirty-five geographical miles. The breadth was very limited, 
the mountain range of Libanus forming its utmost barrier to the 
east. The country was in general sandy and hilly, and not well 
adapted for agriculture; but to counterbalance this, the coast abounded 
in good harbours, the fisheries were excellent, while the mountain 
ranges in the interior afforded, in their cedar-forests, a rich supply 
of timber for naval and other purposes. Hence the early proficiency 
which the Phoenicians made in navigation, and hence the flourishing 
commercial cities which covered the whole line of coast. 

The native name of Phoenicia, as appears from the Phoenician 
coinage, was Kenaan (the Canaan of Scripture), and the people 
themselves were called Kenaamin. 

The name Phoenicia, or Phamice, is of Grecian, not Oriental 
origin, and was given by the Greeks to this country, either from the 
number of palm-trees ($>o«/tf , " a palm-tree") which grew there, so 
that Phoenicia will signify " the land of palms," or else, as Gesenius 
thinks, from %dvi%, in its sense of " purple," making Phoenicia, there- 
fore, mean " the land of the purple dye," in allusion to the famous 
purple or crimson of Tyre. 

Sketch of Phoenician History. 

I. The Phoenicians were a branch of the Aramaean or Semitic race. 
To this same great family the Hebrews and Arabians belonged, as 



204 • SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

well as the inhabitants of the wide plain between the northern waters 
of the Euphrates and Tigris.. 

The Phoenicians themselves, according to their own account, came 
originally from the shores of the Persian Gulf; and Strabo informs 
us, that in the isles of Tyrus and Aradus, in the gulf just named, 
were found temples similar to those of the Phoenicians ; and that the 
inhabitants of these isles claimed the cities of Tyrus and Aradus, on 
the coast of Phoenicia, as colonies of theirs. 

IT. It is uncertain what time they migrated to the coast of the 
Mediterranean, but it must have been at a very early period, since 
Sidon was a great city in the time of Joshua. 

The Phoenicians far surpassed all the other nations of antiquity in 
commercial enterprise. Their greatness as a commercial people was 
chiefly owing to their peculiar natural advantages. Their situation 
at the extremity of the Mediterranean enabled them to supply the 
western nations with the different commodities of the East, which 
were brought to Tyre by caravans from Arabia and Babylon ; while 
their own country produced many of the most valuable articles of 
commerce in ancient times. 

Off the coast the shell-fish was caught which produced the purple, 
the most celebrated dye known to the ancients, and the sand on the 
sea-shore was well adapted for the making of glass. Mount Libanus 
supplied them with abundance of timber for ship-building, and the 
useful metals were obtained in the iron and copper mines of Sarepta. 

III. In the west they visited not only Britain for tin, but also the 
shores of the Baltic for amber ; and on the northern coast of Africa, 
in Spain, Sicily, and Malta, they planted numerous colonies, which 
they supplied with the produce of the East. Their settlements in 
Sicily and Africa became powerful states, and long opposed a formi- 
dable barrier to the Roman armies. By their alliance with the 
Jewish state in the time of Solomon, they were enabled to sail to 
Ophir, where they obtained the produce of India. Herodotus even 
says that they circumnavigated Africa. 

IV. The Greeks attributed the invention of letters to the Phoeni- 
cians. There can be no doubt, however, that they attained to great 
perfection in the arts in very early times. The Syrians supplied 
Solomon with all kinds of artificers to assist in the building of the 
Temple at Jerusalem ; and the workmanship of the artists of Sidon 
was celebrated in the Greek towns of Asia Minor, as early as the 
time of Homer. 

V. The Phoenician cities appear to have been originally indepen- 
dent of one another, and to have possessed, for the most part, a 
monarchical form of government. The oldest of these cities was 
Sidon; but Tyre became in later times the most important, and 
probably exercised some degree of authority over the other states. 

After the conquest of Samaria and Judea, the Phoenicians became 



PLACES IN PHCENICIA. 205 

subject in succession to the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian mon- 
archies. In the wars between the Greeks and Persians, they formed 
the chief and most efficient portion of the Persian navy. They 
afterwards became part of the dominions of the Seleucidse, and were 
eventually included in the Roman province of Syria. The language 
of the Phoenicians closely resembled the Hebrew and Aramaic. 

Places in Phoenicia. 

Proceeding upwards from the mouth of the Cliorsms, now the 
Koradsche, we come to — 1. Dora or Dorus, the Dor of Scripture, a 
small place with a harbour, now Tortura. 2. Ecbatana, at the foot 
of Mount Carmel, the same probably with the Bathura of Josephus, 
and now Caiffa. Here Cambyses gave himself a mortal wound as 
he was mounting his horse, and thus fulfilled the oracle which had 
warned him to beware of Ecbata, and which he had supposed "to refer 
to the capital of Media. 3. Sycaminon, to the north, so called from 
its abundance of wild fig-trees. The Syriac name was Chepha. It 
is now Kaifa or Kaffa. Near this place, and at the foot of Mount 
Carmel, the shell-fish from which purple was obtained were found in 
abundance. Mount Carmel, which consists rather of several con- 
nected hills than of one ridge, extends from the plain of Esdraelon, 
in a north-west direction, and terminates in the Carmelum Promon- 
torium, the only great promontory on the coast of Palestine, and 
which forms the S.W. extremity of the bay of Acre. Above the 
promontory the River Kison enters the bay, on the banks of which 
stream the host of Sisera was overthrown. 4. Ptolemais, at the 
upper extremity of the bay. The native name of this place was 
Accho, which the Greeks changed into Ace Q'Axrj), but it was even- 
tually better known by the name of Ptolema'is, which it had received 
from the first Ptolemy, king of Egypt, by whom it was much im- 
proved. It was called also Colonia Claudii Caesaris, in consequence 
of its receiving the privileges of a Roman city from the Emperor 
Claudius. It is now the well-known St. Jean d' Acre. 

5 Tyrus, called by the natives Ysor, by the Greeks Tvpof. The 
Carthaginians, colonists of Tyre, called the mother city, on the other 
hand, Tsar or Sar, which the Romans, receiving the word from 
them, converted into Sarra, and formed from it the adjective Sar- 
ranus y equivalent to Tyrius. Tyre was founded by a colony from 
Sidon, the most ancient of the Phoenician cities, but its splendid 
prosperity soon caused it to take precedence of the parent state, and 
to eclipse its glory. It became, in fact, the first commercial city of 
its time. Originally the city of Tyre was built on the mainland, but 
having been besieged for a lengthened period by Nebuchadnezzar, 
the inhabitants conveyed themselves and their effects to an island 
about half a mile from the shore, where a new city was founded, 
which enjoyed an increased degree of celebrity and commercial pros- 
18 



206 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

perity. The old city hence was called Palsetyrus, the other simply 
Tyrus. The new city continued to flourish, extending its colonies 
and commerce on all sides, till it was attacked by Alexander the 
Great. After an obstinate resistance, it was taken and severely 
punished. Still, however, the city continued to flourish, until the 
founding of Alexandria, by diverting commerce into a new channel, 
gave Tyre an irreparable blow, and she gradually declined, until now 
hardly a vestige remains. Just above Tyrus, the River Leontes, 
now Lanto, empties into the sea. 6. Sarepta or Tarephath, where 
Elijah performed the miracle of multiplying the contents of the 
barrel of meal and cruse of oil, and where he raised the widow's son 
to life. It is now Sura/end. 7. Sidon, one of the most ancient 
cities of Phoenicia, with an excellent harbour, and already extant in 
the time of Jacob. Sidon was the parent city of Tyre, aid of most 
of the towns of Phoenicia. Many manufactories, particularly those 
of linen and glass, were successfully carried on here. Notwith- 
standing the rise and prosperity of Tyre, it remained a very wealthy 
and important city to the time of its conquest by Artaxerxes Ochus, 
when its fleet amounted to one hundred triremes and quinqueremes. 
In Alexander's time it was without any fortifications, and preserved 
scarcely anything but its reputation for fine glass. It is now the 
small town of Say da, and its harbour is nearly choked up with 
sand. 8. Berytus, the Berotha of Scripture, called also Colon la 
Felix Jidia in the time of Augustus, who made it a Roman colony, 
and named it thus in honour of his daughter Julia. In the age of 
Justinian it became a famous school of law. The modern appella- 
tion is Beirout. 9. Byblus, on a height at some distance from the 
coast. Adonis, or the sun-god, was worshipped here with peculiar 
honours, under the name of Thammuz. Just below this place was 
the River Adonis, now Nahr Ibrahim. At the anniversary of the 
death of Adonis, which was in the rainy season, its waters were 
tinged red with the ochrous particles from Mount Libanus, and hence 
were fabled to flow with his blood. 

10. Tripolis, now Tarabolus. It derived its name from Tyre, 
Sidon, and Aradus, having established here, in common, a triple 
town, each with its own walls and colonists, as a place of assembly 
for their States-General. Tripolis had a good harbour and extensive 
commerce. At the present day, the sand has so accumulated that 
the town is separated from the sea by a small triangular plain, at 
the apex of which is a village where vessels land their goods. 11. 
Area, called subsequently Csesaera, the birthplace of the Emperor 
Alexander Severus. 12. Aradus, on a small island near the shore, 
now Ruad. It was founded, according to Strabo, by a band of 
exiles from Sidon. 13. Antaradus, called also Constantia, after 
the Emperor Constantius. It is now Gortosa, with a small harbour. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Reign or Solomon. 

b. c. 1015—975. 

Solomon ascended the throne of David B.C. 1015, and inherited 
an empire extending from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, and 
from the mountains of Lebanon to Egypt and the Atlantic arm of 
the Red Sea, including a population of more than five millions. 

Thus David, during a reign of forty years, had made the Hebrews 
the ruling people, and his empire the principal monarchy in Western 
Asia. 

As David's reign had been one of conflict and blood, so Solomon's 
was one of quietness and peace. The Canaanites were his willing 
vassals. The warlike and civilized Philistines ; the Edomites, Moab- 
ites, and Ammonites ; the nomadic Arabians of the desert ; and the 
restless and warlike Syrians from Damascus to the Euphrates — all 
were tributary to him. Peace gave to all his subjects prosperity; 
the trade which he introduced brought wealth into the country ; the 
building of the temple and of palaces introduced foreign artists, and 
encouraged commercial intercourse with foreign nations. Every 
deparment of human industry flourished, and the good order and 
discipline of the administration were as much subjects of admiration 
as the wisdom and learning of the monarch. 

Jerusalem. 

Jerusalem is presumed to owe its origin to Melchizedec ; and, if 
so, must have been founded two thousand years before the advent 
of our Lord. In the succeeding century it was captured by the 
Jebusites, who extended its walls, and built a castle or citadel upon 
Mount Sion. It was taken from them by the forces under the com- 
mand of Joshua (Joshua xv. 63 ; xviii. 28 ; Judges i. 8), but they 
long retained possession of the fortress, nor was it established as the 
capital of Israel till the time of King David. Its magnificence was 
chiefly owing to the works of him and his successor, Solomon, who 
adorned it with sumptuous edifices, and, above all, with a temple, 
which has in no age been, nor will be, excelled in splendour and 
magnitude. During the period of Rehoboam, the city was stormed 
and plundered by Shishak, king of Egypt, and a similar fate befel 

(207) 



208 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

it about a century and a half afterwards from Joash, king of Israel. 
In the reign of Manasseh it was besieged and taken by the Assyri- 
ans, when the idolatrous monarch was carried captive to Babylon. 
Its destruction, however, was not effected till the time of Zedekiah, 
when Nebuchadnezzar, actuated by a spirit of fury, committed ter- 
rible ravages, razing the fortifications, setting flames to the temple, 
and carrying away the inhabitants as prisoners, in view of adding to 
the population of his own capital. Seventy years afterwards they 
were restored, and Zerobabel began to rebuild the sacred structure. 
Alexander the Great could not be said to have taken it, since the 
place voluntarily submitted to him when he entered it as a friend, 
and offered sacrifices in the temple. It was sacked by Antiochus 
Epiphanes, who profaned the holy city by placing the image of 
Jupiter in it. 

The Maccabees, who restored the independence of their country, 
rescued it from the heathen, but a contest between their descendants 
gave the Romans an opportunity for interfering, and Pompey made 
himself master of the capital, which he surnamed Hierosolymarius. 
Judea, revolting from the Roman yoke was besieged by Titus, cap- 
tured, and totally destroyed in the year of our Lord 70, when 
97,000 persons were taken prisoners, and 110,000 perished. Re- 
flecting on its former beauty, riches, and glory, Titus could not for- 
bear weeping and cursing the obstinacy of the seditious Jews, who 
forced him against his inclination, to destroy so magnificent a city, 
and such a glorious temple as was not to be paralleled in the whole 
world. It was again rebuilt by the Jewish nation, but fresh com- 
motions breaking out, Adrian expelled every Hebrew, and made it 
death for any of them to enter it. He then began a new city on 
the ruins of the old, which is supposed to be the present one. But 
it was Constantine and his mother Helena who had the honour of 
restoring here the worship of the one living and true God. The 
caliph Omar, the third in succession from Mahomet, was its next 
conqueror. During the holy wars it was taken in the great crusade 
by Godfrey of Bouillon, when the standard of the cross was triumph- 
antly displayed upon its walls, and it again became the capital of a 
kingdom, though Godfrey, when offered the diadem, refused it, 
declaring that he would never receive a crown of gold in that city 
where the Saviour of the world had worn a crown of thorns. In 
1217 this monarchy was abolished, and since that period the "city 
of the Lord" has remained the capital of a Mahometan province. 

Jerusalem. — The capital of Judea has passed under various de- 
nominations. In the first place, it is supposed to be composed of two 
appellations, Salem, or Peace, and Jebus (1 Chron. xi. 4), after- 
wards changed to Jerusalem. Some suppose it signifies " Fear Sa- 
lem," because the city was very strong; others, u They shall see 
Peace f and many, with a great degree of probability, say it means 



JERUSALEM. , 209 

the u Inheritance of Peace. " In the sacred page we find it called 
the city of David, the city of God, the holy mountain, the holy hill, 
the throne of the Lord, and the house of the Lord God of Israel, the 
city of the great king, the throne of judgment, the throne of the 
house of David, a place for the judgment of the Lord and for matters 
of controversies, the city of truth, the city of joy, and a defence, his 
tabernacle ; by the Hebrews, Jeruschalem ; the Greeks and Romans, 
Hierosolyma ; and the Mahometans name it Kuddish, or the Holy, 
and also, the Lady of Kingdoms. 

It is situate in the midst of the central chain of mountains which 
runs north and south, through Palestine, about forty-two miles east 
of the Mediterranean sea, twenty-five miles west of Jordan, one hun- 
dred and thirty-six miles south of Damascus, in 35° 20' 15" east 
longitude, and 31° 47' 47" north latitude. It occupies an irregular 
promontory in the midst of a confused mass of rocks, crags and hills. 
Here, on her rocky heights, she sits dreary, silent, and solitary amid 
surrounding desolation. 

The city was so strongly fortified, both by nature and art, that the 
Hebrews, on their entering Canaan, could not drive out the Jebusites, 
but were obliged to live with them ; a part of the city only having 
been reduced at the period, probably when Adonizedek, its king, was 
defeated and slain by Joshua. (Joshua x. ; xv. 63.) Being situate 
on the confines of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, it was 
divided betwixt them, and for many ages it sometimes formed a part 
of the one and sometimes of the other. (Joshua xviii. 28.) Efforts 
were made by the tribe of Judah, after Joshua's death, to dislodge 
the Jebusites from Jerusalem ; but though they succeeded in destroy- 
ing the city (Judges i. 8), these Canaanites rebuilt and fortified it so 
strongly that it was not completely in possession of the Hebrews till 
the time of David. For a period of about five hundred years, there- 
fore, Jerusalem was jointly inhabited by Jews and Jebusites; but at 
length David, notwithstanding the bravado of the Canaanitish garri- 
son, who kept possession of the strong fort on Mount Zion, suc- 
ceeded in expelling from it these enemies of Israel. (1 Chron. xi. 4.) 

After its complete subjugation by David (1 Chron. xi. 5), it was 
not only considered the metropolis of Palestine, but the common 
property of the Israelites. No house in it, therefore, was let, but all 
Hebrew strangers, from whatever part of the country they came, had 
the privilege of lodging in it gratis, by right of hospitality. To this 
custom our Lord probably alludes in Matthew xxvi. 18. 

The city was built on four hills, the chief of which were Moriah 
on the east and Zion on the south-west. The old city of Salem was 
built on a third hill called Acra, on the north-west, betwixt which 
and Zion there was a valley. The fourth hill, called by Josephus 
Bezetha, and on which the new city (once suburbs) was built, lay to 
the north of Moriah, and, consequently, in the north-east quarter of 
18* 



210 * SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the city. The name of the whole mountain, indeed, on the several 
hills and hollows of which the city stood, was at one time called 
Moriah, or vision ; because it was high land, and could be seen afar 
off, especially from the south (Gen. xxii. 2); but afterwards that 
name was appropriated to the most elevated part, on which the tem- 
ple was erected, and where Jehovah appeared to David. (2 Chron. 
iii. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16.) But we shall avail ourselves of the accu- 
rate account of Josephus, which is the highest authority to which we 
can resort for ascertaining the form and extent of the Jewish capital. 
It is as follows : — " The city was built on two hills, which are oppo- 
site to each other, having a valley to divide them asunder ; at which 
valley the corresponding rows of houses on both hills terminate. Of 
these hills, that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in 
length more direct. Accordingly it was called i the citadel/ by King 
David ; but it is by us called ' the upper market-place/ But the 
other hill, which is called Acra, and sustains the lower city, is of the 
shape of the moon when she is horned ; over against this there was 
a third hill, but naturally lower than Acra, and parted, formerly, 
from the other by a broad valley. In the time when the Asmoneans 
reigned they filled up that valley with earth, and had a mind to join 
the city to the temple. Now, the valley of the Cheesemongers, as 
it was called, was that which distinguished the hill of the upper city 
from that of the lower, and extended as far as Siloam. On the out- 
side these hills are surrounded by deep valleys, and by reason of the 
precipices belonging to them on both sides, are everywhere impassa- 
ble." He afterwards adds, " As the city grew more populous it 
gradually crept beyond its old limits, and those parts of it that stood 
northward of the temple, and joined that hill to the city, made it 
considerably larger, and occasioned that hill, which is in number the 
fourth, and is called Bezetha, to be inhabited also. It lies over against 
the tower Antonia, but is divided from it by a deep valley which was 
dug on purpose." 

This account plainly marks the gradual extension of Jerusalem, 
from the time of David till the foundation of the northern walls was 
laid by Herod Agrippa. The extent of the upper city, as it is called 
by Josephus, seems to be pointed out by an expression in 2 Sam. 
v. 9: — " David built around about from Millo inward." Now, 
whether by Millo we understand with some writers the valley which 
divided the upper from the lower city, and which was filled up by 
Solomon, or (more correctly we think) with others, " the house of 
Millo/' as it is sometimes called, or the senate-house, which stood on 
the north-east of Mount Zion, the meaning still appears to be that 
David built from one side of Mount Zion, quite round to the oppo- 
site part. The valley which divided Zion from Acra and Moriah, is 
called by Josephus the valley of Cheesemongers, and extended as far 
as Siloam. Across this valley Solomon appears to have raised a 



JERUSALEM — EN-ROGEL. 211 

causeway, leading from Mount Zion to the temple on Mount Moriah. 
The city does not appear to have been plentifully supplied with 
water; and, if we except a few springs, the greater part of that 
within the walls was brackish ; hence it became necessary to convey 
water into it by aqueducts, either from Grihon on the west, or from a 
still greater distance. On the east of the city, and stretching from 
north to south, stands the Mount of Olives, facing the spot formerly 
occupied by the temple, of which it commanded a noble prospect. 
It is separated from the city by the valley of Jehoshaphat. On the 
west of the city, and formerly without the walls, stood the eminence 
called Calvary or Golgotha ; but so much has the city been extended 
in that direction, that it now stands almost in its very centre. 

During the reigns of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was not only 
greatly enlarged, but embellished with numerous splendid and costly 
buildings. At that period it had ten or eleven gates, and was forti- 
fied by strong walls and towers. But the chief glory of the city was 
its temple, which was built by Solomon, and chosen by Jehovah him- 
self, as the place where the Shechinah, or visible token of the Divine 
presence, resided. This matchless structure was erected on Mount 
Moriah, after the pattern given to Solomon by David, according to 
express revelation from heaven. (1 Chron. xxviii. 2.) 

The preparations made for its erection were immense. David and 
his princes contributed as much gold as amounted to forty-six thou- 
sand tons weight, or the value of more than a thousand millions ster- 
ling. About 184,600 men were employed seven years in building 
it; and the area it occupied, including all its courts to the outer 
walls, covered a space of about thirty-one acres. It remained in its 
glory only about thirty-four years, when Shishak carried off its trea- 
sures. (1 Kings xiv. 25, 26.) But its future history is identified 
with that of Jerusalem itself. In regard to its dimensions and struc- 
ture, as learned men are by no means agreed in their description of 
it, we shall reserve our account of this magnificent building till we 
arrive at the period when the second temple was reared. 

En-Rogel. 

Below the city, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and just beyond the 
junction of the valley of Hinnom with that of Jehoshaphat, is a large 
quadrangular well, one hundred and twenty-five feet deep, which 
usually contains a good supply of sweet water; and, in the rainy 
season, discharges a considerable stream. 

This well, called the Well of Job and the Well of Nehemiah, is 
understood to be the En-Rogel of the Scriptures. It appears to be 
very ancient, and in situation corresponds well with the various 
notices of it. It is in the midst of an olive-grove, and retains many 
traces of former gardens. Adonijah here began his ambitious efforts 
for the kingdom, " without the city, at the fountain which is in the 



212 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

King's garden." (Josh. xv. 7, 8 ; Josh, xviii. 16, 17 ; Josephus, 
Antiq., vi. 14, 4 ; 1 Kings i. 9.) 

Waters of Gihon. 

Grihon, to which young Solomon was led to be anointed king, is 
supposed by the author of the Pictorial Bible, and by Dr. Robinson, 
to have been a fountain west of the city, which was stopped, or cov- 
ered over, by Hezekiah, and its waters brought by subterraneous 
channels into the city. (2 Chron. xxxii. 30; xxxiii. 14; Sirach 
xlviii. 17.) These waters are supposed still to flow in their hidden 
channels down to the ancient temple, and perhaps to Siloam. 

Commissaries of Solomon. 

The several districts in which Solomon stationed his twelve com- 
missaries, for the supply of his household, may be determined with 
tolerable distinctness, though several of the places mentioned cannot 
be identified. (1 Kings iv. 4—20.) 

Mount Ephraim we recognise in the hill country north of Jeru- 
salem. 

Beth-shemesh, with which we have become familiar, is mentioned 
in connection with Makaz, Shaalbim, Elon-beth-hanan, which directs 
us to the northern district of Judah, south-west from Jerusalem. 

Socho, which belonged to the third commissary, is assumed by 
Wieland in his Atlas, to be identical with a town of this name, which 
Drs. Robinson and Wilson saw in the mountains of Judah, about 
twelve miles south of Hebron. If so, his province was among " the 
uttermost cities of the children of Judah, towards the coast of Edom, 
southward/' (Josh. xv. 21.) 

Dor, the province of the son of Abinadab, was on the Mediterra- 
nean, above Joppa, and a few miles south of Carmel. 

Dr. Wilson, who visited this place, describes it as consisting of a 
few wretched houses situated close to the sea, near a small bay. 

" There are considerable masses of ruins in this place. From 
the references to it in Scripture, it seems to have been early a place 
of considerable importance. It was one of the towns which Manas- 
seh had in Issachar, but the inhabitants of which, that tribe could 
not originally drive out. 

" Its king was smitten by Joshua. It was the residence of Ben- 
Abinadab, son-in-law of Solomon, and one of his twelve commissa- 
riat officers, and was at this time probably one of the ports of the 
Israelitish kingdom." 

Taanach, Megiddo, Bethshean, and Jezreel, which have been al- 
ready mentioned, direct us to the great plain of Esdraelon, as the 
province of the fourth officer of this kind. 

The fifth was in Ramoth-Gilead and neighbouring towns. 



FORTIFIED CITIES OF SOLOMON. 213 

The sixth was in Mahanaim, a few miles north of Ramoth. Two 
were stationed in the northern province of Palestine, in Naphtali and 
Asher. In Issachar and Benjamin, one each. Another still east 
of Jordan, in the country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of 
Og, king of Bashan. 

AZZAH AND TlPHSAH. 

Azzah, which is given as one of the extreme boundaries of Solo- 
mon's kingdom, is only another name for Gaza. (1 Kings iv. 24.) 

Tiphsah is the ancient Thapsacus, once a large and flourishing city 
on the west bank of the Euphrates, of which now nothing but the 
name remains. 

A line running from Gaza north-east through Damascus to Thap- 
sacus, intersects the kingdom of Solomon in its greatest length. The 
phrase, therefore, is expressive of the extent of his dominion, as 
" from Dan to Beersheba" describes that of Palestine. The extreme 
length of the empire may have been three hundred and fifty or four 
hundred miles. 

Fortified Cities of Solomon. 

Besides the expenses of the temple and of his palaces, Solomon 
appropriated much public money in fortifying several cities in differ- 
ent parts of the kingdom ; Hazor, west of the waters of Merom, as 
a protection doubtless against the Syrians, those restless and vigilant 
foes of the Jews ; Megiddo, on the south-western borders of Esdrae- 
lon, commanding the caravan trade between Syria and Egypt; and 
Beth-horon the Nether, Baalath, and Gezer, all situated near toge- 
ther, a few miles west-by-north from Jerusalem, near the southern 
frontiers of the Philistines. These may have been needful defences 
against the Philistines and the kings of Egypt. (1 Kings ix. 
15—19.) 

Tadmor is also mentioned in the same connection. This is Pal- 
myra, the city of palms, situated in the midst of the Syrian desert, 
between Damascus and the Euphrates. It is four days' journey 
east of Baalbec, and some days' journey west of the Euphrates. 
Standing in solitary and gloomy magnificence in the midst of a vast 
desert, and at a great distance from any habitable town, this ancient 
city, even in its ruins, presents an appearance singularly impressive. 

Remains of ancient temples and palaces surrounded by splendid 
colonnades of white marble, many of which are yet standing; and 
thousands of prostrate pillars, scattered over a large extent of space, 
attest the ancient magnificence of this city of palms, surpassing that 
of the renowned cities of Greece and Rome. 

How vast must have been the flow of wealth in trade from east 
to west, that could have reared and sustained such a city in the soli- 
tude of a desert, far from any other human habitations ! To secure 



214 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the advantages of the caravan trade across the great Syrian desert, 
was doubtless the object of Solomon in fortifying this city. The 
ruined structures and columns that remain are mostly of an age sub- 
sequent to that of this monarch of Israel. 

Commercial Cities on the Red Sea. 

To secure the trade of the Indian Ocean and the distant and un- 
known country of Ophir, Solomon also built two cities on the Akabah, 
the eastern arm of the Red Sea. 

These were Elath and Ezion-geber. They must have been near 
together at the head of this gulf. 

A neglected pile at the north-western angle of the bay is supposed 
to mark the site of Elath. 

South-east of this, just across the head of the bay, is a large fort 
or castle, two hundred feet square, with towers at the four corners, 
and walls twenty-five feet in height; it is garrisoned by thirty or 
forty men, and serves to keep the Bedouins in awe and protect tra- 
vellers and pilgrims to Mecca. This may have been the port of 
Ezion-geber. However that may be, the commerce of that ancient 
port has entirely ceased. 

Not even a fishing-boat lies in the harbour which once received 
the fleets of Solomon, as they returned from their distant voyages of 
three years, laden with the gold of Ophir. 

Queen of Sheba. 
The visit of the queen of the south, who came from the uttermost 
parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, next engages our 
attention. (1 Kings x.) Where then was Sheba ? whence came 
this celebrated personage ? The best authorities concur in the 
belief that she came from the southern province of Arabia Felix, on 
the eastern shore of the Red Sea, south of the modern city of Mecca. 
Others, with less probability, suppose her to have come from Abyssi- 
nia, where also was a settlement of Sabeans, the descendants of Seba, 
eldest son of Cush. (Gen. x. 7.) 

Old Age and Death of Solomon. 

Near the close of Solomon's reign, the peace of his kingdom was 
disturbed by a revolt of the Edomites on the south-eastern, and of 
the Syrians on the north-eastern frontiers. (1 Kings xi.) 

His voluptuous repose was once more disturbed by the seditious 
designs of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and by the prophetic annun- 
ciation that the kingdom should be rent from him by this usurper, 
in punishment of his idolatrous defection from Jehovah, at the in- 
stigation of his foreign wives. Solomon died about 975 b. c, at the 
age of sixty, after a reign of forty years, but little lamented by his 
subjects. 



CHAPTER XIV, 

Kings of Judah and Israel. 

b. c. 975—772. 

Wearied with their oppressive burdens, the people, on meeting at 
Shechem to appoint their king, demanded of Rehoboam a promise 
that he would relieve them of their intolerable burdens under his 
father. Upon his refusal of this request, the ten northern tribes 
openly revolted, and proclaimed Jeroboam, who had just returned 
out of Egypt, their king. 

Rehoboam, therefore, the only son of Solomon of whom we have 
any knowledge, inherited, at the age of forty-one, a division of his 
father's kingdom, comprising the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah, 
who in future are known as the kingdom of Judah. 

This kingdom in territory retained not more than a fourth part of 
that of Solomon. In relative strength, however, the two kingdoms 
were more equally divided. Judah was more densely populated 
than Israel; the whole of Levi, refusing to countenance the idola- 
tries of Jeroboam, left their cities in his kingdom and retired into 
Judah (2 Chron. xi. 14) ; and many other faithful adherents to the 
religion of their fathers, from time to time followed the example of 
the Levites in settling in Judah. (2 Chron. xv. 9.) 

Before proceeding to the history of the kings of Judah and Israel, 
it will be useful to take a general view of the two kingdoms. 

" In the preceding history we have seen that the Lord, from the 
time of Moses to the death of Solomon, always governed the Hebrews 
according to the promises and threatenings which he had pronounced 
to them from Mount Horeb. If they deviated from the principle 
of worshipping Jehovah as the only true God, that is, if they re- 
volted from their lawful king, he brought them, by suitable chastise- 
ment, to reflect on their obligations to return to Jehovah, and again 
to keep sacred the fundamental law of their church and state. 
The same course we shall find pursued in the government of the two 
kingdoms. 

u In the kingdom of Israel, there was from the first the greatest 
disregard of the Divine laws, and it was consequently destroyed one 
hundred and thirty-four years earlier than the kingdom of Judah. 
Jeroboam trusted little to the Divine promise made to him by the 

(215) 



216 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

prophet, and feared that if the people went to Jerusalem to attend 
the feasts, they would return to their allegiance to the house of 
David. To prevent such a step, he set up two golden or gilded 
calves as images of Jehovah, an imitation of the Apis and Mnevis 
of the Egyptians, among whom he had long dwelt in exile. One of 
these was located at Bethel, not far from Shechem, for the southern 
tribes, and the other at Dan, for the tribes in the north. He built 
temples for these images, erected altars, appointed priests from all 
the tribes without distinction, and even performed the priestly func- 
tions himself. 

u The history represents a contest (as Hess expresses it) between 
Jehovah, who ought to be acknowledged as God, and the idolatrous 
Israelites ; and everything is ordered to preserve the authority of 
Jehovah in their minds. At last, after all milder punishments 
proved fruitless, these rebellions were followed by the destruction of 
the kingdom and the captivity of the people, which had been pre- 
dicted by Moses, and afterwards by Ahijah, Hosea, Amos, and other 
prophets. (Deut. xxviii. 36; 1 Kings xiv. 15; Hos. ix. ; Amos v.) 

" We shall find Divine Providence likewise favourable or adverse 
to the kingdom of Judah, according as the people obeyed or trans- 
gressed the law ; only here the royal family remained unchanged, in 
accordance with the promise given to David. We shall here meet, 
indeed, with many idolatrous and rebellious kings, but they are 
always succeeded by those of better views, who put a stop to idolatry, 
re-established theocracy in the hearts of their subjects, and by the 
aid of prophets, priests, and Levites, and of the services of the tem- 
ple, restored the knowledge and worship of God. Judah, therefore, 
though much smaller than Israel, continued her natural existence 
one hundred and thirty-four years longer; but at last, as no durable 
reformation was produced, she experienced the same fate as her sister 
kingdom, in fulfilment of the predictions of Moses and several other 
prophets. (Deut. xxviii. 36.)" * 

The reign of Jeroboam continued two and twenty years; during 
which he built the unknown city of Penuel. Twice he received a 
solemn denunciation from the Lord for his crimes, accompanied by 
the sentence of the utter extermination of his family. He died at 
the age of sixty-three years, after having acquired an infamous noto- 
riety in all times, as Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to 
sin. (1 Kings xii. 13, 14.) 

Military Fortifications of Eehoboam. 

Kehoboam, though forbidden to wage war against the revolted 
tribes, proceeded to fortify and garrison many towns in Judah, as a 

* JahD, vol. ii., c. 35, p. 46. 



FORTIFICATIONS OF REHOBOAM. 217 

means of defence against Israel (2 Chro-n. xi. 5-12), or rather against 
the Philistines and Egyptians who might become confederates of 
Israel ; and there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all 
their days. (1 Kings xiv. 30.) 

Etam, which Rehoboam fortified, with Bethlehem and Tekoah (2 
Chron. xi. 6), had been already decorated by Solomon with gardens 
and streams of water. Thither, according to Josephus, he was ac- 
customed to take a morning drive in his chariot. 

This place is supposed, by Dr. Eobinson and others, to be the 
modern Urtas, in a valley of the same name, a mile and a half 
south of Bethlehem. Here is a copious fountain and ancient ruins — 
" the foundations of a square tower, a low, thick wall of large squared 
stones, rocks hewn and scarped, and the like." 

Beth-zur has been identified by the Rev. Mr. Wolcott in the re- 
mains of an old town and other ruins near a copious fountain of water, 
on an eminence, four or five miles north of Hebron, towards Jeru- 
salem. 

Socho was on the borders of the western plain, south-west from 
Jerusalem, the scene of combat of David and Goliath. This is the 
second town of the same name which has fallen under our notice. 

Adullam was also on the plain apparently near this city and Gath. 
Its precise situation has not been determined. It is to be distin- 
guished from the cave of the same name near Bethlehem. (Comp. 
Gen. xxxviii. 1; Josh. xii. 15; xv. 35; Neh. xi. 30.) 

The Philistine city of Gath was another of Rehoboam' s fortified 
places on the frontiers of that country. 

Maresha is supposed to have been a mile and a half south of Eleu- 
theropolis. With Ziph we have already become acquainted in the 
history of David. 

Adoraim is recognised in the village of Dura, four or five miles 
south-west from Hebron. 

Lachish, already noticed, is said by Eusebius and Jerome, accord- 
ing to Dr. Robinson, to have been seven miles from Eleutheropolis 
towards the south. It was besieged by Rabshakeh two hundred and 
fifty years later ; and from the historical notices of it, appears to 
have been a place of some importance. (Josh. x. 3-31; xv. 39; 2 
Kings xviii. 14; xix. 8.) 

The position of Azekah is determined by its proximity to Socho, 
in the history of the combat of David with Goliath. (1 Sam. xvii. 1.) 

Zorah is known to us as the birthplace of Samson, on the borders 
of the plain west of Jerusalem ; and Ajalon as that valley in which 
the "sun and moon were stayed in their course." (Josh. x. 12.) 

The invasion of Shishak, king of Egypt, occurred in the fifth year 
of the reign of Rehoboam, when the temple and his own palace were 
despoiled of their treasures. (1 Kings xiv. 25; 2 Chron. xii.) 

Jeshanah, taken by Abejah in his miraculous victory over Jero- 
19 



218 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

boam, is wholly lost in the oblivion of past ages. The history shows 
that it must have been a city of Samaria. (2 Chron. xiii. 19.) 

Invasion of Judea by Ethiopians. 

Asa's virtuous reign over Judah began b. c. 955. After fifteen 
years spent in reforming the idolatry of the people, and in building 
fenced cities, his country was invaded by a formidable army of 
Ethiopians, who were totally defeated at Maresha, which Rehoboam 
had fortified. (2 Chron. xiv.) 

With Gerar, where the pursuit terminated, we have already be- 
come familiar in the history of Abraham and Isaac. (Gen. xx. 1.) 

But whence came these Ethiopians ? From Southern Arabia, the 
country of the Queen of Sheba, according to some; from Ethiopia 
Proper, in the opinion of others. Others again suppose that there 
may have been a kingdom of Ethiopians or Cushites on both sides 
of the Red Sea, which furnished this formidable army ; and another 
class suppose these Ethiopians to have usurped the throne of Egypt, 
and, like Shishak, invaded Judah from that country. 

War between Judah and Israel. 

After a period of profound peace, open hostilities began between 
Asa and Baasha king of Israel, who secured the possession of the 
throne by conspiring against Nadab, son of Jeroboam, and utterly 
exterminating the race of that guilty monarch, according to the words 
of the prophet. (1 Kings xv. 25-31. Comp. xiv. 1-19.) 

Nothing is known of Gibbethon, where Nadab was slain, than that 
it was one of the cities of the Philistines included in the territory of 
Dan. - (Josh. xix. 44.) 

To prevent the emigration of his own people and communication 
between the two nations, Baasha renewed hostilities by fortifying 
Ramah, six miles north of Jerusalem, familiarly known in sacred 
history, and associated with a melancholy interest by the wailings of 
Rachel weeping for her first-born. (Matt. ii. 18.) In order to 
strengthen his forces, Asa engaged the assistance of Benhadad, the 
Syrian, of Damascus, to invade the north of Israel, and appropriated, 
for this purpose, the treasures of his palace and of the temple. 

This invader overran the territory of Naphtali, around the head- 
waters of the Jordan, extending his conquests to the Sea of Galilee. 
(1 Kings xv. 16-21.) Dan, so often mentioned, was, as we have 
seen, at the head of the vast marsh and meadow above the waters 
of Merom. 

Ijon and Abel-beth-maachah, a little west and north of this marsh, 
were on the line of the enemy's march. 

Cinneroth was on the shore of the Lake of Gennesaret, to which 
it gave its name, this being only a corruption of Cinneroth. Its lo- 
cation has not been determined. 



CITY OF SAMARIA. 219 

The works of Baasha-a-Ramah were utterly demolished by Asa, 
and two towns built of the materials. (1 Kings xv. 22.) Geba 
must have been two miles or more east of Raman; and Mizpeh, on 
the lofty eminence of Neby-Samwil, at an equal distance on the 
south-west. 

> The last years of Asa's reign were embittered by wars, by reason 
of his distrust of Jehovah in seeking the aid of the Syrians, and by 
personal ills. They were also dishonoured by some acts of petulance 
and cruelty. (2 Chron. xvi. 7 — 14.) 

The City of Samaria. 

During the reign of Asa, from b. c. 955 to 914, several wicked 
kings ruled over Israel, memorable chiefly for their sins. (1 Kings 
xvi. 6 — 29.) Omri, however, the last of these kings, built the re- 
nowned city of Samaria, 926 b. c, and made it, instead of Tirzah, 
the capital of the kingdom of Israel. 

This city now becomes distinguished in the history of the kings 
of Israel, and of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, connected with the 
various famines of the land, the unexpected plenty of Samaria, and 
the several deliverances of the city from the Syrians. 

It continued for two hundred years the seat of idolatry and the 
subject of prophetic denunciations, until the carrying away of the ten 
tribes into captivity by Shalmaneser. Five hundred years afterwards 
it was taken by John Hyrcanus, and razed to the ground, according 
to the words of the prophet, — " What is the transgression of Jacob ? 
Is it not Samaria ? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of 
the field, and as plantings of a vineyard ; and I will pour down the 
stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations 
thereof." (Micah i. 5, 6.) 

Not a vestige of ancient Samaria now remains. But it was rebuilt 
and adorned with regal munificence by Herod. Of these structures 
many interesting ruins now remain. Here Philip preached the gos- 
pel, and, in connection with Peter and John, gathered a church. 
(Acts viii. 5 — 25.) 

Where then was Samaria? The access to it is through Shechem, 
along the verdant valley which breaks through the mountains west- 
ward, between Ebal and Gerizim. After turning a little to the 
north-west, this valley, at the distance of three or four miles, spreads 
out into a broad circular basin, five or, six miles in diameter, and 
bounded on every side by mountains. 

From the plain of this beautiful amphitheatre of mountains, near 
the western side, rises a very high hill by almost perpendicular sides, 
on which stood Samaria, commanding a position of impregnable 
strength and of surpassing loveliness. The distance from Shechem 
and Jacob's Well may be six or seven miles. 

Samaria, or Sebasta, as it was called by Herod, has been described 



220 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY, 

by many travellers. We are indebted to Dr. Olin for the full and 
graphic description of its present state : — 

" The ascent is very steep, and more than one hundred feet in 
height, and the narrow footpath winds among the ruinous, though 
substantial cottages, which appear to have been constructed, to a 
great extent, of ancient materials, very superior in their size and 
quality to anything that would now-a-days be wrought into an Arab 
habitation. The imposing remains of a magnificent Christian church 
were immediately upon my right. A mosque, at the moment occu- 
pied with Mohammedan worshippers, stands within its walls. 

6i At the distance of not more than fifteen rods west or south-west 
of the mosque, commence the vestiges of an ancient colonnade, 
which is easily traceable by a great number of columns erect or 
prostrate, along the side of the hill, for at least one-third of a mile, 
where it terminates at a heap of ruins, near the western extremity 
of the ancient site. 

" I counted eighty-two standing columns, and the number of 
fallen and broken ones must be much greater. The avenue is seven- 
teen paces wide ; the columns are two feet in diameter, with, how- 
ever, considerable variety in size, and some in material, as I saw 
several of granite and white marble, while the larger number were 
of the limestone common to the region. They may be eighteen or 
twenty feet in length. The capitals are all gone, though the shafts 
retain their polish, and, where not broken, are in good preservation." 

This colonnade, it is supposed, may have been a splendid avenue 
leading to the city. Other imposing ruins of ancient walls and vast 
colonnades still remain, silent, mournful mementos of the ancient 
magnificence of this renowned city. 

Elijah the Ppophet. 

Sacred history now introduces to our notice Elijah the Tishbite, 
B. c. 915, but without giving the least notice of his parentage or the 
place of his nativity. He appears suddenly as a prophet of the 
Lord, of stern and awful sanctity, as if he had dropped from heaven 
out of that cloudy chariot which, after his work was done, conveyed 
him back to heaven. He announces the judgment of God in a dearth 
and a famine which continued three and a half years (Luke iv. 25 ; 
James v. 17); occasioning inconceivable distress throughout all the 
land. 

From this place we trace him to Zarephath, Sarepta of the Evan- 
gelist, on the coast of the Mediterranean, midway between Tyre and 
Sidon ; where he was miraculously fed, in connection with the family 
of a poor and hospitable widow. 

This place has been recognized by ruins near the sea-side, and by 
others up the side of the mount, at the distance of near a mile. 
Travellers are divided in opinion which was the ancient town. 



SIEGE OF SAMARIA. 221 



Mount Carmel and Elijah. 



Next occur the exciting scenes of the meeting of Elijah with Ahab 
(1 Kings xviii. 1 — 21), and with the prophets of Baal on Mount 
Carmel. This is a mountain promontory, ten or twelve hundred 
feet high, which juts boldly out into the sea forty miles below Tyre, 
and a^ little more than half that distance west of Nazareth. It 
forms the south-western boundary of the Plain of Esdraelon. 

The mountain is overspread with verdure, and radiant with beauty 
in the distant landscape. The " excellency of Carmel " is the admi- 
ration of every traveller. 

The scene of the solitary prophet of the Lord standing around 
the altar for a burnt-offering on this mountain, and challenging all 
the prophets of Baal, eight hundred and fifty-six in number, to 
decide who is God by calling down fire from heaven to consume the 
victim ; the frantic and vain cries of the false prophets ; the brief 
prayer of the prophet of the Lord, and the immediate and impressive 
answer ; the extermination of the prophets of Baal ; the prayer of 
Elijah for the relief of the dreadful drought and famine, and the 
immediate answer of abundance of rain, all conspire to form a spec- 
tacle of sublimity seldom equalled in the stern and awful manifesta- 
tions of Divine power. (Comp. 1 Kings xviii. 21 — 46.) 

From admiring the stern and intrepid bearing of the prophet, as 
he stood before Ahab, himself devoted to death, yet slaying the 
prophets of that tyrant, we turn with wonder to see him fleeing in 
dismay at the threats of Jezebel the queen. (1 Kings xix. 1 — 8.) 
Having fled a long distance from Samaria, through Judea to the 
wilderness beyond, at Beersheba his strength and spirits faint, and 
he longs for death. But miraculously fed and sustained, he pursues 
his flight through that great and terrible wilderness quite to Horeb, 
the Mount of God. 

Here, in milder majesty, the Lord appears again, where he had 
formerly displayed himself to Moses, rebukes the timid, desponding 
prophet, and directs him to retrace his steps over the desert, through 
Judea and Israel, to the wilderness of Damascus beyond, in the land 
of Syria, to anoint Hazael, king over that country. (1 Kings xix. 
9 — 19.) Soon after this begins the intimacy of Elijah with Elisha. 

Siege of Samaria — Defeat of the Syrians. 

The siege of Samaria by the Syrians, when they were defeated 
by what they considered " the God of the hills/' occurred in the 
nineteenth year of the reign of Ahab. (1 Kings xx. 1 — 21.) The 
year following they suffered another terrible defeat from " the God 
of the valley/' at Aphek, in the valley of Jezreel, the eastern por- 
tion of the Plain of Esdraelon. Here, where the Philistines had 
formerly encamped before the death of Saul and Jonathan, the 
19* 



222 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

children of Israel pitched before the hosts of Ben-hadad, c like two 
little flocks of kids ; but the Syrians filled the country." (Comp. 1 
Kings xx. 22—35). 

Naboth at Jezreel. 

This murderous victory was soon followed by the tragical events 
in the story of Naboth, at Jezreel. This city, where Ahab had a 
palace, was situated on the heights at the western extremity of 
Gilboa, and eastern part of Esdraelon, about twenty-five miles north 
of Samaria. 

It is, according to Dr. Robinson, a most magnificent site for a 
city, and commands a wide and noble view, extending down the 
broad low valley on the east to Beisan (Beth-shean), and towards 
the mountains beyond the Jordan ; while towards the west it includes 
the whole of the great plain quite to the long ridge of Carmel. 

Agreeably to the prophetic denunciation, the same ground that 
drank the blood of Naboth became, in the retributions of Divine 
Providence, the scene of the massacre of Jezebel herself, her son 
Joram, and all the house of Ahab, by the hand of Jehu. 

The disastrous alliance of Jehoshaphat with Ahab against the 
Syrians, their defeat at Ramoth-Gilead, and the death of Ahab, are 
fully detailed in the Sacred History. With Ramoth-Gilead we have 
become acquainted, page 172. Fourteen years after this Joram, 
like his father Ahab, was wounded in an attempt to recover this 
place. (2 Kings viii. 28.) And here Jehu was proclaimed and 
anointed king, from whence he went to Jezreel and executed the 
exterminating decree of heaven against the house of Ahab. (1 Kings 
xxi. 17 — 25 ; 2 Kings xxviii.) 

Invasion of Judah under Jehoshaphat. 

Jehoshaphat survived his contemporary Ahab five years, during 
which time he attempted, without success, to revive the commerce 
of the Red Sea at Ezion-geber. 

His territory was also invaded by a confederate army of Moabites, 
Ammonites, and Arabians from Edom (1 Kings xxii. 41 — 49 ; 2 
Chron. xx.), who came round the southern extremity of the Dead 
Sea, and up the western shore as far as En-gedi, apparently before 
Jehoshaphat had any knowledge of their invasion. 

The cliff Ziz, by which they came up, Dr. Robinson supposes 
must have been the terrific pass at this place, which he describes as 
extremely perilous and difficult. The descent is made " by zig-zags, 
often at the steepest angle practicable for horses." Sometimes the 
pathway runs along protecting shelves or perpendicular facings of 
the rock, and then descends along the precipitous sides of loose 
shelves, smooth and slippery as glass. Seen from below, it seems 
utterly impassable. And yet ancient armies have often passed and 



THE PROPHET ELISHA. 223 

repassed these frightful cliffs, and loaded camels often pass them in 
safety. 

The miraculous deliverance of the pious king from these invaders, 
by their mutual slaughter, occurred in the wilderness of Tekoa, here 
called Israel. 

The valley of Berachah (benediction), through which the army 
returned with joy, and offering blessings to the Lord, is a beautiful 
valley leading up westward from Tekoa. It lies west of the Frank 
Mountain, and south of Bethlehem and Etham. On the east side 
of this valley are extensive ruins covering three or four acres, con- 
sisting of several cisterns and some large substructures. 

Jehoshaphat concluded his virtuous reign of twenty-five years, 
b.c. 889. 

Last Days of Elijah. 

In this stage of sacred history, Elijah reappears in his original 
character, a fearless, uncompromising reprover of the idolatry of the 
king of Israel, who sent to Ekron to consult the god of the Phi- 
listines respecting the result of an injury he had received by a fall. 
After twice calling down fire from heaven to consume the bands of 
men whom the enraged Ahaziah sent out to arrest him, he goes 
boldly into the presence of the king himself, and announces to him 
his certain death. (2 Kings i.) 

Elijah's last days on earth are spent in visiting and counselling 
with the prophets of the Lord in Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. Then 
he passes over Jordan, the waters dividing to give him a passage, as 
they had done six hundred and fifty years before for the Israelites. 
On the other side, in the presence of Elisha, he is carried by a whirl- 
wind into heaven. (2 Kings ii. 1 — 18.) This event occurred four or 
five years before the death of Jehoshaphat, b. c. 894. 

The Prophet Elisha. 

This prophet performs much the same part in life as did his pre- 
decessor Elijah. He appears on a given occasion in his miraculous 
character, and then retires, to appear again in a different scene, from 
another quarter of the stage. 

He is now at Jericho, where he heals the water previously de- 
scribed (2 Kings ii. 15 — 22); then at Bethel, the subject of mock- 
ing by the way (2 Kings ii. 23 — 25); then in the wilderness of 
Edom, south of the Dead Sea, with the conjoined forces of Israel, 
Judah, and Edom. Here, in consequence of the piety of Jehosha- 
phat, the army is miraculously saved from perishing with thirst, and 
obtains a complete victory over the enemy. (2 Kings iii.) 

Elisha next relieves the poor widow of a deceased prophet from 
the exactions of an oppressive creditor; but in what place this mira- 
cle was wrought we are not informed. (2 Kings iv. 1 — 8.) Then 



224 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

he is at Shunam; and frequently passes between this place and 
Mount Carmel. 

Shunam is on an eminence at the western end of Little Hermon, 
three miles north of Jezreel, and overlooks the whole plain of Es- 
draelon to Carmel in the west. 

Here he is hospitably entertained by the wife of a rich Shunam- 
mite, to whom he gives promises of a son ; and in process of time, 
restores to life this deceased son. (2 Kings iv. 8 — 37.) 

Again he comes to Gilgal, and neutralizes the poison which had 
been accidentally mingled with the food of the prophets : he feeds a 
hundred of them with twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn, 
which had been presented to him by a man from the unknown town 
of Baal-Shalisha. (2 Kings iv. 38, seq.") 

The healing of a Syrian nobleman, captain of the host of the king 
of Syria, is the next act of the prophet; but the scene of this in- 
teresting story of Naaman is not specified. 

Some time after he is with the prophets who are cutting timber on 
the banks of the Jordan, where he recovers an axe that had fallen 
into the river. 

Again, he is at Dothan, supposed by some to have been in the 
valley between the mountains of Little Herman and Grilboa, by others, 
a few miles north of Samaria. Here the Syrians, sent for his arrest, 
are smitten with blindness, and led into the presence of the king at 
Samaria. (2 Kings vi. 13 — 24.) Passing the incidents of the hor- 
rible famine, when the mother was constrained to subsist on the flesh 
of her own offspring, and the sudden plenty by the retreat of the 
Syrians (2 Kings vi. 24, seq. ; vii.), we .find Elisha himself, for 
reasons which do not appear in his history, at Damascus, where he 
assures Ben-hadad of his speedy death. (2 Kings viii. 7 — lo.) 
Next he commissions a prophet to go to Ramoth-Gilead, to anoint 
Jehu to be king. 

Elisha now disappears from the page of history for half a century, 
and even his final resting-place in his grave is unknown ; though 
we are informed of the incidents of his sickness and burial. (2 Kings 
xiii. 14 — 22.) He exercised the prophetic office through several 
successive reigns in Israel, for the space of seventy years, and died 
at a great age. 

History of Judah and Israel. 

The history of Judah and Israel, in the interval between the 
anointing of Jehu and the death of Elisha, offers little worthy of 
geographical notice. In connection with the revolt of Edom, in the 
reign of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, and before the reign of 
Jehu, the town of Zair is mentioned as a place of rendezvous for 
the forces of Jehoram. (2 Kings viii. 21.) Nothing farther is known 
of the place. 



PETRA. 225 

The revolt of Libnah is noticed in the same connection as though 
it were a town of Edoin. (2 Kings viii. 22 ; 2 Chron. xxi. 10.) It 
is understood, however, to be the Levitical city of Judah, on the 
plains of the neighbourhood of Eleutheropolis, west and north of 
Hebron. Frequent mention has been made of the place. Its 
locality has not been discovered. The revolt is ascribed to the idola- 
try which had been introduced, in which Libnah, a city of the priest- 
hood, had refused to join . 

Jezreel, where Jehu fulfilled the dreadful denunciation which had 
been uttered by Elijah twenty years before against Ahab and Jeze- 
bel (2 Kings ix.), has become familiar to us in the preceding history. 

Megiddo, to which Ahaziah fled, has already been described. It 
was ten miles west of Jezreel. Of Gur and Ibleam we only know, 
from the narrative, that they must have been between Jezreel and 
Megiddo. (2 Kings ix. 27.) In the reign of Jehu, the Syrians 
greatly reduced the kingdom of Israel by the conquest of the coun- 
try east of Jordan, as far south as Aroer, on the river Arnon, which 
empties into the Dead Sea near the middle of its eastern shore. 
(2 Kings x. 32, 33.) Amaziah, king of Judah, about b. c. 838, 
made a successful expedition against the Edomites, over whom he 
gained a decisive victory in the Valley of Salt, south of the Dead 
Sea, and of Usdum, the vast salt mountain connected with the pillar 
of salt already described. 

" The ridge is in general very uneven and rugged, varying from 
100 to 150 feet in height. It is, indeed, covered with layers of 
chalky limestone and marl, so as to present chiefly the appearance of 
common earth or rock ; yet the mass of salts very often breaks out, 
and appears on the sides in precipices forty or fifty feet high and 
several hundred feet in length, pure crystallised fossil salt. 

" We could at first hardly believe our eyes, until we had several 
times approached the precipices, and broken off pieces to satisfy our- 
selves, both by the touch and taste. The salt, where thus exposed, 
is everywhere more or less furrowed by the rains. As we advanced, 
large lumps and masses broken off from above lay like rocks along 
the shore, or were fallen down as debits. The very stones beneath 
our feet were pure salt. This continued to be the character of the 
mountain, throughout its whole length, a distance of five geographi- 
cal miles." 

Petra. 

In the same expedition, Amaziah took also Selah, the capital of 
the Edomites, afterwards known by the name of Joktheel, which is 
now generally identified with the ancient city of Petra. 

This wonderful city was known as one of great strength and im- 
mense trade some centuries before the Christian era. It was such 
in the third century, under the power of the Romans ; but all know- 



226 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

ledge of it had been totally lost to the Europeans until the last thirty 
or forty years. Burckhardt has the honour of having discovered its 
forgotten ruins in 1811. Since that time it has been fully explored 
and described by many travellers. 

During the oblivion of ages, from which it has just emerged, it 
had become utterly waste and desolate, without an inhabitant, yet 
presenting in its stupendous ruins a scene of magnificent desolation 
without a parallel in the world. 

It is wonderful for situation, also, above all the assembled habi- 
tations of man ; grand, gloomy, and peculiar, it lies in its deep and 
hidden recesses, the wonder of the world. In the midst of the wild 
and terrible scenery of mountain and desert, it is surmounted by 
towering rocks and crags, which guard in gloomy silence the dark 
abyss in which it is enshrined. 

Petra is in the mountains of Edom, midway between the Dead 
Sea and the eastern arm of the Red Sea, on the east of Mount Hor, 
and at its base. From the summit of Mount Hor, the very mount 
of desolation itself, on looking down upon the confused scenery of 
rock and crag and mountain height, and cleft and chasm, you notice 
a deep depression, in the form of an irregular parallelogram, of a 
mile in length, and a variable width of half a mile. At the bottom 
of this chasm Petra is situated. 

The walls of this deep abyss are perpendicular in almost every 
direction, and from 400 to 600 or 700 feet high. These perpendicular 
walls are pierced by many crevices or side valleys, which, at unequal 
distances, come to an abrupt termination among the overhanging 
cliffs. These deep cuts and foldings of the perpendicular breastwork 
endlessly diversify the outline, and enlarge it to the extent of four 
miles or more. 

One of these clifts on the east, called the Syke, leads up by a gra- 
dual ascent to the summit of the heights above, and opens a narrow 
passage for admission to the city, sometimes not more than ten or 
twelve feet in width, between the rough and frowning walls on each 
side, which seem ready to collapse and crush the traveller or embed 
him in their bosom. This frightful pass is the principal line of com- 
munication with the city. On the north and south, the breastwork 
of rocks opens a single pass, through which a camel can with difficulty 
find his way into the city. 

One small stream runs down the eastern pass, by which the city 
was supplied with water. Grooves are everywhere cut around the 
sides of the walls, to collect every drop of the precious treasure which 
trickles down their sides, and to convey it off to cisterns and reser- 
voirs for the use of the inhabitants. Many of these reservoirs, cut 
in the solid rock, still remain in a good state of preservation. 

The area at the bottom, in whole or in part, was occupied with 
the buildings and streets and public promenades of this ancient 



PETRA. 227 

metropolis, of which only one solitary place remains. It is square, 
and about thirty-five paces along each side. 

The front towards the north was ornamented with a row of columns, 
four of which are standing. An open piazza at the back of the 
colonnade extends the whole length of the building. A noble arch, 
thirty-five or forty feet high, leads to one of the apartments. The 
building is called by the Arabs " Pharaoh's house." 

But the most wonderful remains of this ancient city are the exca- 
vations in the perpendicular facings of the rocks which enclose it. 
The city seems actually to have been carried on all sides for several 
hundred feet up these perpendicular walls of solid rock, out of which 
innumerable apartments, of every conceivable form and size, have 
been chiselled for the service of men. It is generally conceded that 
these excavations were not merely depositories for the dead, but were 
used also for private dwellings, for theatres and temples. 

They occupy not only the front but the sides of various ravines 
and recesses, which are sunk into the face of the enclosure in every 
direction; In a direct line, these excavations would extend five or 
six miles, and are sometimes carried up to the summit of the rocks. 
The ascent to them was by flights of stairs cut out of the rock, and 
running obliquely up the perpendicular face of it. 

Many of these apartments are adorned in front with curious orna- 
mental work, facades, columns, and statues, all hewn out of the rock, 
and still adhering as a part of it. Both nature and art combine to 
lend a strange charm, like a scene of enchantment, to these wonderful 
ruins. 

The opening of the Syke on the east is adorned by two splendid 
fagades; further up, in one of its gloomy recesses among the tombs, 
is an immense theatre, capable of seating 5,000 spectators ; and 
further still is the most attractive of these ruins, the Treasury of 
Pharaoh. It is an immense temple cut out of the facing of the rock, 
with a front highly ornamented, exhibiting an exquisite piece of 
architecture. The pinnacle of the temple, at the height of 100 feet, 
is surmounted by a beautiful urn. 

On the mountain west of the town there is also a vast temple ; the 
front of it is forty-eight paces in length, and adorned with eight 
immense columns. The temple stands upon one of the highest, 
wildest crags of the mountains, the sides of which have been hewn 
down and carried away, so that the temple stands a single piece of 
carved work chiselled out of the mountain — a stupendous work of an 
unknown people at an age equally unknown. 

The mysterious and devoted city of Petra was frequently the sub- 
ject of prophetic denunciations, which are strikingly fulfilled in its 
present gloomy and desolate condition. (Isa. xxxiv. ; Jer. xlix. 7 — 23 ; 
Ezek. xxxv.) 



228 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Soon after his victory over Edom and the capture of Selah, Ama- 
ziah challenged Jehoash, king of Israel, to battle, in consequence of 
the murders and robberies committed by the troops whom he had 
dismissed, and was himself overcome and taken prisoner at Beth- 
Shemesh. 

Amaziah was restored to his throne, but Jerusalem was, at the 
same time, taken; its walls were broken down in part, and the 
treasures of the temple, and of the king's house, carried away to 
Samaria. (2 Kings xiv. 8, 14.) Several years after this he was 
assassinated at Israel. 

Azariah, King of Judah. 

Under Azariah, called also Uzziah, Judah had a season of pros- 
perity during a long reign of half a century, from 810 to B. c. 758. 
This king restored the lost territory of Judah, and extended its 
borders again to the Red Sea, on the head waters of which he again 
built Elath, near Ezion-geber. (2 Chron. xxvi; 2 Kings xiv. 
21, 22.) 

He extended his conquests also into the land of the Philistines. 
Ashdod and G-ath, whose walls he broke down, have been already 
described. Jebnah was in the northern part of Philistia, nearly west 
of Ekron, and midway between it and the sea, at the distance of 
three or four miles from the coast. 

The modern name of the place is Yebua. It is situated on a small 
eminence, on which are the ruins of an ancient church. The Arabians 
of Gur-Baal are, in the Septuagint, styled " the Arabians that dwelt 
above Petra." They and the Mehunims were doubtless tribes in 
Arabia Petaa. 

Reign of Jeroboam II. 

Jeroboam, the contemporary of Uzziah, was equally successful 
against the Syrians. He recovered all the conquests which they had 
made during the reigns of Jehu and Jehoahaz, and restored to the 
empire its ancient boundaries, from Hamath to the Dead Sea, the 
Sea of the plain, as Jonah, the son of Amittai, had predicted. 
(2 Kings, xiv. 23—29.) 

The Entering of Hamath. 

This place, of which such frequent mention is made as the north- 
ern limit of the territory of the Israelites, has been recently explored 
by our missionary, the Rev. Mr. Thompson. It is a narrow pass 
between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, at the head of the great valley 
of Coele-Syria, above Baalbec, at the head waters of the Orontes, 
which run north and west 150 miles into the north-eastern coast of 



J 



THE ENTERING OF HA MATH. 229 

the Mediterranean, and a little above the source of the Leontes, 
which runs south-west eighty-five miles into the same sea, above 
Tjre. 

The two mountain ridges come close together, while the Orontes, 
rushing out from the base of the mountain, at the head of a wild and 
savage gorge, forms at once the largest river in Syria, with the 
exception perhaps of the Jordan, and sets in a furious current 
directly across the plain towards Anti-Lebanon. The quantity of 
water is prodigious, clear as crystal, and cold as the snow of 
Lebanon. 

This almost impassable river forms the natural boundary of the 
kingdom of Hamath on the south, and the limit of the land pro- 
mised to Israel on the north. " Here, I suppose/' continues our 
traveller, "was the 'entering in' of the land of Hamath/' 

Hamath was settled soon after the flood by one of the sons of 
Canaan. It clearly defines the northern boundary of the Land of 
Promise. Our traveller's account of this interesting and important 
locality is as follows : — 

" Hamath is mentioned in all the accounts of the northern borders 
of the promised land, by Moses, Joshua, Ezekiel, and Zachariah, and 
in one connection or another it is met with in nearly half the books 
of the Bible. It has never changed its name, except among the 
Macedonia Greeks, who called it Epiphania, in honour of Antiochus 
Epiphanes. But, with the dynasty, this foreign name also disap- 
peared. Thus it appears that but few sites in ancient geography 
are so certainly ascertained as this of Hamath. And yet, since 
the days of Jerome at least, there has been much confusion in 
regard to it. 

" Hamath has not only been a well-known city from the very ear- 
liest time, but it has never ceased to be the capital of a kingdom, or 
of a province known by this name. Before the time of David, the 
kingdom of Hamath included, as I suppose, the province of Zobah, 
the Chalcis of the Greeks and Romans, the Kunsaran of the Arabs. 
By the time David rose into power, Hadadezer had become king of 
Zobah, and the enemy of Toi, king of Hamath, probably because he 
had erected a rival kingdom out of a part of Toi's dominions. Hence 
Toi sent to congratulate David upon his victory over Hadadezer. 
(2 Sam. viii. 10.) 

" This supposition also explains 2 Chron. viii. 3, 4, where Solo- 
mon is said to have built stone cities in Hamath, that is, Hamath- 
Zobah, that part of the original kingdom of Hamath which Solomon's 
father had conquered from Hadadezer. We are not to suppose that 
Solomon fought against Toi or his son, but merely built cities in the 
provinces conquered by David, of which Palmyra was the most cele- 
brated. Modern Hamath is a large town, containing at least 30,000 
20 



230 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

inhabitants. There are about 2,500 Greek Christians, a few Syrians, 
and some Jews ; the rest are Moslems."* 

The reader may probably compare, in this connection, the follow- 
ing passages : — Gen. x. 18 ; Num. xxxiv. 8 ; Josh. xiii. 5 ; Judges 
iii. 3 : 1 Kings viii. 65 ; 2 Chron. viii. 8. 

Tiphsah, smitten by the usurper Menahem (2 Kings xv. 16), 
appears to be a city near Tirzah, the former capital of Israel, but the 
situation of both these places seems to be irrecoverably lost. Tizrah, 
here mentioned, is to be distinguished from that of the same name, 
the ancient Thapsacus on the Euphrates, to which Solomon extended 
his empire. (1 Kings iv. 24.) 

* Bib. Sacra, vol. v. 680, 681. 



CHAPTER XV. 
The Assyrian Empire. 

This empire here comes again into notice, after an oblivion in sacred 
history of some 1,500 years. (Gen. x. 11, 12.) 

That ancient empire is, however, to be carefully distinguished from 
the modern, which now becomes intimately connected with Jewish 
history. It rose suddenly into great power, and continued about 
150 years, when it was merged in the Chaldee-Babylonian empire 
after a war of three years. 

Assyria. 

I. Assyria, in the limited sense of the term, was a province of the 
great Persian satrapy of Babylonia, and answers now to a part of 
Kurdistan. It was bounded on the north by Armenia, on the east 
by Media and Susiana, on the west by Mesopotamia and part of 
Babylonia, and on the south by the remaining portion of Babylonia, 

II. Assyria was mountainous in the north and east. It was a 
well-watered country, however, and consequently for the most part 
productive. 

Its chief and boundary river was the Tigris, besides which Ptolemy 
mentions particularly three rivers, namely, the Lycus, Caprus, and 
Gorgus, which are tributaries of the Tigris. 

III. The province of Assyria was subdivided into several districts, 
of which the principal were, — 1. Aturia, to the north-west of the 
greater Zab. The name Aturia appears to be a mere dialective 
variety of pronunciation instead of Assyria, and the district thus 
designated was probably the central point from which the power as 
well as the name of Assyria was subsequently spread. 2. Adiabene, 
between the greater and lesser Zab. 3. Apolloniatis to the south 
of the lesser Zab. 4. Chalonztis, to the east of the preceding. 5. 
Sittacene, the territory around the city of Sittace. 6. Satrapene, in 
the extreme south, 

Places in Assyria. 

1. Ninus (y! NtVc^), the Nineveh of Scripture, and capital of the 
Assyrian empire. It was situate on the eastern bank of the Tigris, 
above the mouth of the greater Zab, and, according to one account, 
was founded by Ninus, the early Assyrian monarch. It is said to 
have been a still larger city than Babylon, and its walls to have been 

(231) 



232 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

one hundred feet high, and broad enough for three chariots to pass 
abreast. There were also on the ramparts fifteen hundred towers, 
each two hundred feet high. Nineveh appears to have been par- 
tially destroyed on the downfall of Sardanapalus, but to have been 
completely overthrown by Cyaxares, the father of Astyages, king of 
the Medes. At a later period, another city of \he name of Ninus 
appears to have arisen in this quarter, but whether on the site of the 
earlier one, or in its vicinity, we have no means of ascertaining. The 
ruins of Nineveh have been generally supposed to be those on the 
eastern side of the Tigris, opposite Ifosul ; but the recent and very 
remarkable discoveries of Layard, in excavating the mounds, not only 
at Kouyunjik, opposite Mosul, but also at Nimroud, lower down 
the river, together with those made by Botta at Khorsabad, have led 
to some doubt respecting the particular locality of this once celebrated 
capital, though they confirm, however, the opinion that it was situated 
on the left bank of the Tigris, above the mouth of the greater Zab. 

2. Gaugamela, to the south-east, a village near the river Bum- 
adus, and in the vicinity of which was fought the final battle between 
Alexander and Darius. This, however, is called in history the battle 
of Arbela, from the city of that name, in which Darius had estab- 
lished his head-quarters, and which hence gave name to the fight, 
though five hundred stadia from the battle-field. Gaugamela is said 
to have signified in Persian "the earners abode," and to have been 
so called because Darius Hystaspes placed here the camel on which 
he had escaped in his Scythian expedition, having appointed the 
revenue of certain villages for its maintenance. 

3. Arbela, the chief city of eastern Adiabene, and in the district 
called from it Arbelltts. It is now Arbil. Mention has been made 
of it under the head of Gaugamela. 4. Apollonia, the capital of the 
district Apolloniatis. 5. Artermita, to the south, called by the na- 
tives Chalasar. Its site is occupied by the modern Schehrban. 6. 
Sittace, to the north-west, near the Tigris, and the capital of the 
district Sittacene. 7. Ctesifphon, on the Tigris, opposite Seleucia. 
It was at first a small village, but the camp of the Parthian monarchs 
being frequently pitched here, caused it gradually to become a large 
city, and finally the capital of the Parthian empire. It was sacked 
by the Saracens in A. D. 637. The ruins of this place and of Seleucia 
are now called El Madain, or " the (two) cities." 

History of Assyria. 

Assyria, taken in a more extended sense, means the Assyrian 
Empire, comprising not only the province just mentioned, but also 
Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Media, Persia, and several countries of 
Western Asia. The early history of this empire is involved in great 
obscurity, our only certain source of information being the Old Testa- 
ment, and the information which even this affords being limited and 



REMAINS OF NINEVEH. 233 

incidental. The legend of Ninus, and Lis warlike queen Semiramis, 
as given by Diodorus, does not belong to the period of authentic 
history. The Hebrew chronicles, on the other land, leave us in the 
dark with reference to the history of Assyria till the earlier part of 
the eighth century before our era. From this time downward the 
names of several Assyrian kings are mentioned, the earliest of whom 
is Phul, contemporary with Menahem, king of Israel. Another of 
these monarchs, named Salmanassar, contemporary with Hosea, king 
of Israel, and Hezekiah, king of Judea, put an end to the kingdom 
of Israel (b. C. 722) by what is termed the Assyrian captivity. The 
last monarch of Assyria was Sardanapulus, in whose reign Nineveh 
was taken by the Medes and Babylonians under Arbaces and Belesis. 
Sardanapalus was the thirtieth in succession from Ninus, according 
to the common account. The brilliant discoveries which have re- 
cently been made by Layard have thrown much light on various 
obscure parts of Assyrian history • and if these discoveries be followed 
up, as is now extremely probable, by new researches, much of the 
history of Assyria, as it is now received, will have to be rewritten. 
Layard thinks there are sufficient grounds for the conjecture that 
there were two, if not more, distinct Assyrian dynasties; the first 
commencing with Ninus, and ending with a Sardanapulus of history; 
and the second, including the kings mentioned in the Scriptures, and 
ending with Saracus, Ninus II., or the king, under whatever name 
he was known, in whose name Nineveh was finally destroyed by the 
combined armies of Persia and Babylon. 

Bemains of Nineveh. 

The remains of Nineveh, now disinterred, after having been buried 
and lost more than 2,200 years, are most remarkable results of mod- 
ern research. With the single exception of the records of revelation, 
these ruins carry us far beyond the earliest periods of recorded time. 
Xenophon, B.C. 400, says, Nineveh was u a great deserted city, 
which in olden times the Medes inhabited." He passed it in his 
retreat with his 10,000 Greeks, but knew not that what he saw and 
described were the remains of this renowned city. 

Even Herodotus, the father of history, B. c. 450, knows as little 
as Xenophon of Nineveh — such was the profound oblivion into which 
it had fallen as early as the beginning of authentic history. And yet 
below the depths of this oblivion, there is another — darker, deeper 
still — from beneath which the ruins to which we refer have been. 
The ruined structures of which Xenophon speaks were erected upon 
those of a city, so ancient as to have been worn down to dust, and 
forgotten, even when the second Nineveh was built. 

These venerable relics, therefore, transport us back to a distant 
antiquity, far beyond that of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and the 
gray monuments of the most ancient Egyptians. They reveal the 
20* 



L 



234 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

history of the city of Nimrod, built, probably, but three generations 
after the flood. If so, they are the oldest ruins of the works of man 
upon the face of the earth. 

The ancient Assyrians who went with Nimrod, that mighty hunter 
before the Lord, and builded Nineveh, are no longer unknown to us. 
Mr. Layard has dug up a considerable portion of their history, after 
it has been buried for nearly 3,000 years. We now have as distinct, 
though not as perfect, an idea of what manner of beings they were, 
of their dress, arms, and implements, their government and religion, 
their modes of making war and following the chase, their progress in 
the arts, and even their domestic habits, as we have of the corre- 
sponding points in relation to the Egyptians. 

These huge old mounds, after being dumb for so many centuries, 
have given up their secrets, and have spoken clearly as to the char- 
acter and history of the people who raised them. 

The localities of these mounds are three in number : Nimroud, 
Khorsabad, and Kouyunjik. The first of these, which has been ex- 
plored by Mr. Layard, is on the Tigris, eighteen miles below Mosul. 
It is about 1,000 feet long, and 500 wide. In the north-west angle 
of this mound is a pyramid, 140 feet in height and 777 in circum- 
ference. It appears to have been an immense palace, on the south 
side of Nineveh, which is supposed to have extended up the river, 
on both sides, to Khorsabad, twelve miles above Mosul. 

The Arabs, under Mr. Layard' s directions, had hardly struck a 
spade into the ground, before they hit upon the upper part of a large 
slab. This was connected with others, which formed the top of a 
hall of unknown extent, and raised to an intense excitement the 
mind of Mr. Layard, in contemplation of sculptured stone, inscrip- 
tions, and buried edifices about to be revealed. 

His account of his first night upon the ground is very striking : — 

" I had slept little during the night. The hovel in which we had 
taken shelter, and its inmates, did not invite slumber; but such 
scenes and companions were not new to me. They would have been 
forgotten, had my brain been less excited. Hopes long cherished 
were now to be realized, or were to end in disappointment. Visions 
of palaces under ground, of gigantic monsters, of sculptured figures, 
and endless inscriptions, floated before me. After forming plan after 
plan for removing the earth and extricating these treasures, I fancied 
myself wandering in a maze of chambers from which I could find no 
outlet. Then again all was re-buried, and I was standing on the 
grass-covered mound. Exhausted, I was at length sinking into sleep, 
when, hearing the voice of A wad, I rose from my carpet, and joined 
him outside the hovel. The day already dawned. He had returned 
with six Arabs, who agreed for a small sum to work under my 
direction." 

The Arabs were equally excited, in expectation of some hidden 



REMAINS OF NINEVEH. 235 

treasure' to be discovered. One of the sheiks the second day came to 
Mr. Layard, with a mysterious and confidential air, and calling him 
aside showed some ivory ornaments, upon which were traces of gold 
leaf, and exclaimed, " Bey, Wallah ! your books are right, and 
the Franks know that which is hid from the true believer. Here is 
the gold, sure enough, and, please God, we shall find it all in a few 
days. Only don't say anything to those Arabs, for they are asses, 
and cannot hold their tongues. The matter will come to the ears 
of the Pacha." 

The first discovery of sculpture was that of two enormous winged 
lions with human heads, emblems of the divinity of the place. 
These lions guarded the entrance to the palace. One day, when Mr. 
Layard was at a little distance, two of the Arabs came running to 
him at the top of their speed, exclaiming with great eagerness, 
" Hasten, Bey, hasten to the diggers, for they have found Nimrod 
himself ! Wallah ! it is wonderful, but true. We have seen him 
with our eyes. There is no God but God V* They had uncovered 
an enormous human head, sculptured in full out of alabaster. 

" I saw at once that the head must belong to a winged lion or 
bull, similar to those of Khorsabad and Persepolis. It was in admi- 
rable preservation. The expression was calm, yet majestic, and the 
outline of the features showed a freedom and knowledge of art 
scarcely to be looked for in works of so remote a period. The cap had 
three horns, and, unlike that of the human-headed bulls hitherto 
found in Assyria, was rounded and without ornament on the top. 

" I was not surprised that the Arabs had been terrified at this 
apparition. It required no stretch of imagination to conjure the 
most strange fancies. This gigantic head, blanched with age, thus 
rising from the bowels of the earth, might well have belonged to 
one of those fearful beings which are pictured in the traditions of 
the country as appearing to mortals, slowly ascending from the 
regions below." 

The corresponding figure of this piece of sculpture was soon dis- 
covered opposite to it. They were both twelve feet in height, and 
as many in length. A knotted girdle, ending in tassels, was carried 
round the loins, and the finest lines in these ornaments, and in their 
wings, appeared in their primitive freshness. The body and limbs 
were admirably portrayed; muscles and bones, although strongly 
developed to display the strength of the animal, showed at the same 
time a correct knowledge of its anatomy and form. 

" I used to contemplate for hours these mysterious emblems, and 
muse over their intent and history. What more noble forms could 
have ushered the people into the temple of their gods ? What more 
sublime images could have been borrowed from nature by men who 
sought, unaided by the light of revealed religion, to embody their 
conception of the wisdom, power, and ubiquity of the Supreme 



236 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Being ? They could find no better type of intellect and knowledge 
than the head of a man ; of strength, than the body of a lion ; of 
rapidity of motion, than the wings of the bird. 

" These winged human heads were not idle inventions, the off- 
spring of mere fancy. They had awed and instructed races which 
flourished 3,000 years ago. Through the portals which they 
guarded, kings, priests, and warriors had borne sacrifices to their 
altars, long before the wisdom of the East had penetrated to Greece, 
and had furnished its mythology with symbols long recognized by 
the Assyrian votaries. They may have been buried, and their exist- 
ence may have been unknown before the foundation of the eternal 
city. For twenty-five centuries their existence had been hidden 
from the eye of man ; and they now stood forth once more in their 
ancient majesty. 

" But how changed was the scene around them ! The luxury 
and civilization of a mighty nation had given place to the ignorance 
and wretchedness of a few half-barbarous tribes. . The wealth, tem- 
ples, and the riches of great cities, had been succeeded by ruins and 
shapeless heaps of earth. Above the spacious hall in which they 
stood, the plough had passed and the corn now waved. 

u Egypt has monuments no less ancient and no less wonderful, 
but they have stood for ages to testify her early power and renown, 
while those before me had but now appeared to bear witness, in the 
words of the prophet, that once ' the Assyrian was a cedar in Leba- 
non with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud and of high 
stature, and his top was among the thick boughs. * * * * His 
height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs 
were multiplied, and his branches became long, because of the mul- 
titude of waters when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made 
their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of 
the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all the 
great nations/ (Ezek. xxxi. 3, 5, 6.) But now is i Nineveh a deso- 
lation, and dry like a wilderness, and flocks lie down in the midst of 
her j all the beasts of the nations, both the cormorant and the bit- 
tern, lodge in the upper inlets of it ; their voice sings in the windows, 
and desolation is in the threshold/ " (Zeph. ii. 13, 14.) 

These lions guarded the portals to a long and narrow hall, which 
formed a part of a vast quadrangular palace, the sides of which are 
lined with slabs of limestone and alabaster curiously wrought, and 
overspread with sculptures and inscriptions in the mysterious cunei- 
form characters. 

The sculptures are in bold bas-relief, and beautiful specimens of 
art, but much more interesting and important as illustrations of the 
manners and customs, the domestic habits and general character of 
this extraordinary people. 

It is difficult to give any idea of the variety and complexity of the 



REMAINS OF NINEVEH. 237 

subjects represented on these sculptured slabs, within the limits to 
which this section is restricted. They relate chiefly to the opera- 
tions of war and the chase, the ceremonies of religion, and the 
homage paid to kings. But these representations are given with 
such a minuteness of detail, with all the particulars of costume and 
customs, as to constitute a full pictorial history of these ancient 
Assyrians and their modes of life. 

Now the king is seen going forth to the conquest of a foreign 
nation. The monarch in splendid attire, his chariot and charioteer, 
his shield-bearer, and buckler, his warriors in different attitudes, in 
their war chariots, and the royal standard waving above them, bear- 
ing in its folds the figure of an archer in a horned cap, and standing 
on a bull, form a striking feature of this military expedition. 

Then the procession is seen returning after victory. Musicians 
are playing on stringed instruments. Attendants are bringing human 
heads and throwing them before the victors. The warriors march 
unarmed, bearing their standards, and an eagle flies before them with 
a human head in its talons. After these comes the monarch. An 
eunuch holds a parasol over him, and the horses of his chariot are 
led by grooms. 

" After the procession we have the castle and pavilion of the con- 
quering king. The ground plan of the former is represented by a 
circle divided into four equal compartments, and surrounded by 
towers and battlements. In each compartment there are figures 
apparently engaged in various culinary occupations, and preparing 
the feast. One is holding a sheep, which the other is cutting up. 
Another appears to be baking bread. Various bowls and utensils 
are placed on tables and stools, all remarkable for the elegance of 
their forms." 

The pavilion is supported by three posts or columns; on the 
summit of one is the fir-cone, the emblem so frequently found in the 
Assyrian sculptures. On the others are figures of the Ibex or moun- 
tain goat, their feet brought together, as if preparing to jump. They 
are designed with great spirit, and carefully executed. 

" The material, probably silk or woollen stuff, with which the 
upper part of the pavilion is covered, is richly ornamented, and 
edged with the fringe of fir-cones, and another ornament, which 
generally accompanies the fir-cone when used in the embroidery of 
dresses and in the decoration of rooms. Beneath the canopy is a 
groom cleaning one horse, while others, picketed by their halters, 
are feeding at a trough. 

a An eunuch, who appears to stand at the entrance of the tent, is 
receiving four prisoners, with their hands tied behind, brought in by 
a warrior in a pointed helmet... Above this group are two singular 
figures, uniting the human form with the head of a lion. One 
holds a whip or a thong in the right hand, and grasps his under jaw 



238 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

with the left. The hands of the second are elevated and joined in 
front They wear under-tunics descending to the knees, and a skin 
falls from the head over the shoulders down to the ankles." Are 
these singular figures emblematic, perhaps, of the character of the 
conquered nation ? 

These discoveries indicate a proficiency in the arts far greater than 
has usually been ascribed to ancient nations even less remote. These 
Assyrians were not only well skilled in many of the principles of 
mechanics, and in. the useful arts, but they were skilful workers in 
the metals and in glass, and even in the precious stones. In sculp- 
ture and painting they particularly excelled. Ezekiel must have 
gazed upon these specimens of art, to describe so accurately the 
" men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans por- 
trayed with vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceed- 
ing in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to." 
(Chap, xxiii. 14, 15.) 

One of the most interesting discoveries of Layard is an obelisk 
of black marble, seven feet long, covered with hieroglyphics, and 
containing also an inscription of 202 lines, in cuneiform characters. 
This, by means of the hieroglyphics, may yet reveal the meaning of 
these mysterious characters, and, like the famous Rosetta stone, be 
the key to a language more ancient, more recondite, and more in- 
structive than the hieroglyphics of Egypt. Considerable progress 
has, indeed, already been made by Mr. Layard and others, in de- 
ciphering this extraordinary language, but of the final result he 
modestly remarks : Ci It would be unwise to be sanguine, and unphi- 
losophical to despair." 

The cuneiform character belongs, perhaps, to the earliest written 
language. It was in general use in Assyria and Babylonia, and at 
various periods in Persia, Media, and Armenia. The Persian branch 
of this language is already fully deciphered, and it is earnestly to be 
desired that these venerable arrow-headed characters should reveal 
the hidden meaning which they have so long held in such profound 
secrecy, in defiance of the most painful and searching scrutiny to 
which they have been subjected. 

But one, the most interesting of these discoveries, is the light 
which is thrown by them on many passages of Scripture. The fol- 
lowing is an instance, taken almost at random from the work before 
us : — In a bas-relief, captives are led before the king by a rope fast- 
ened to rings passed through the lip and nose. This sculpture illus- 
trates the passage (2 Kings xix. 28) : "I will put my hook in thy 
nose, and my bridle in thy life." 

The sacredness of the royal personage is the same as in the days 
of Esther iv. 11. Slingers appear among the warriors, like David 
in his conflict with Goliath. Other valiant men appear attired with 
the giant's armour, his helmet, his coat of mail, his shield; and his 



REMAINS OF NINEVEH. 239 

spear. Like this prince, the chief men have their shield-bearers 
going before them. 

We must dismiss the subject by commending the work of Mr. 
Layard to the careful perusal of the reader.* 

Very interesting discoveries have also been made at Khorsabad, 
which place appears to have been the opposite side of Nineveh, 
twenty miles north of Nimroud ; such was the width of this exceed- 
ing great city. The result of these excavations is concisely given in 
the language of another : — 

" The walls were of sun-dried bricks, and where they rose above 
the sculptured slabs, they were covered with paintings. The beams, 
where they remained, were of mulberry. The buildings were pro- 
vided with a complete system of sewerage, each room having had a 
drain connected with a main sewer. Among the ruins, a small 
chamber was discovered, formed of bricks, regularly arched. Many 
of the bas-reliefs appeared to have been taken from other buildings 
and re-used. 

" Many of the paintings and sculptures, copied by M. Flan din, 
at Khorsabad, have been carefully engraved at the expense of the 
late government of France. Through the kindness of a friend, we 
have been permitted to examine between thirty and forty of these 
splendid and costly engravings. As works of art they are attractive, 
but as exact transcripts of the scenes and objects of a hoary anti- 
quity, they are inestimable. 

" The most obvious impression communicated by these pictures is 
the strangeness of the physiognomy of the men — its unlikeness to 
the races now existing in Central Asia. They seem to belong to a 
race or family now unknown. All the figures indicate great physical 
development, animal propensities very strongly marked, a calm, 
settled ferocity, a perfect nonchalance amidst the most terrible scenes ; 
no change of feature takes place, whether the individual is inflicting 
or experiencing horrid suffering. 6 Their bows also dash the young 
men to pieces ; they have no pity on the fruit of the womb ; their 
eye doth not spare children/ 

" The pictures are very remarkable as indicating the entire ab- 
sence of the higher mental and moral qualities, and the exuberance 
of the brutal part of man's nature. At the same time, there is not 
wanting a certain consciousness of dignity and of inherent power. 
There is a tranquil energy and fixed determination which will not 
allow the beholder to feel any contempt for these stern warriors. "f 

These paintings are a faithful delineation of the character of the 
Assyrians, as sketched by the pen of inspiration ; " They are terrible 
and dreadful; their judgment and their dignity shall proceed of 
themselves." " And they shall scoff at the kings, and the princes 

* Layard's 'Nineveh and its Remains.' 
f Bib. Sacra, vol. v. 552, 553. 



240 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

shall be a scorn unto them; they shall deride every stronghold; for 
they shall heap up dust (a mound) and take it." 

The Prophet Jonah. 

To this account of Nineveh we subjoin the geographical notices 
connected with the life of Jonah. He lived in the reign of Jero- 
boam II., B. c. 825 — 786. His native place was Gathhepper (2 
Kings xiv. 25), which is supposed to have been in Galilee, at no 
great distance north-west from Nazareth, and south-west from Cana. 

Joppa, to which he repaired in his vain endeavour to flee from the 
presence of the Lord, is the principal port on the Mediterranean for 
the trade of Jerusalem, about thirty-two miles distant, and more than 
twice that distance from his native place. 

Joppa stands on a rocky, oblong hill, the houses and streets regu- 
larly rising one above another in tiers, according to the elevation of 
the different strata forming the site of the buildings. Neither the 
houses nor the walls of the place are by any means so despicable as 
they are often represented to be. 

Near the eastern gate is a cistern highly ornamented, containing 
an Arabic inscription. The market is supplied with a great profu- 
sion of fruit. The best buildings lie along the street contiguous to 
the sea, including the principal stores of the merchants. The har- 
bour is small, and the waters too shoal to admit any but vessels of 
very small size. It is unsafe, by reason of hidden rocks and its 
exposure to high winds. 

Joppa is remarkable as the residence of Cornelius the centurion, 
the first gentile convert, to whom Peter was sent. (Acts x.) 

From the shore on which Jonah was thrown, a journey of some 
500 miles awaited him, over the mountains and deserts, to the 
devoted city against which his denunciations from the Lord were 
directed. 

Other prophets, as Isaiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah, predicted also 
the overthrow of Nineveh. The entire prophecy of Nahum is occu- 
pied with the burden of Nineveh. (In connection with the Book 
of Jonah, compare Isa. xiv. 24-^29; Zeph. ii. 13; Ezek. xxxi. 
3—18.) 

These prophecies receive their fulfilment in the destruction of 
Nineveh by the Medes and Babylonians, B. c. 625. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

• Babylonia. 

1. Babylonia, now Irak Arabi, was bounded on the east by Su- 
siana and Assyria, on the south by the Sinus Persicus, on the west 
by the Arabian Desert, and on the north by Mesopotamia. It was 
separated from this latter country by what was termed the Wall of 
Media, a wall of baked brick, erected by Semiramis as a barrier 
against the incursions of the Medes and other nations, twenty feet 
broad and one hnndred feet high. 

II. Babylonia was entirely flat and alluvial land, which, on ac- 
count of the want of rain, was watered from canals by means of 
hydraulic machines, and was in this way rendered extremely fertile, 
producing from two to three hundredfold. The principal canals 
were — 1. The Maarsares (more correctly, perhaps, Naarsares), now 
Narsi, drawn from the Euphrates above Babylon, running parallel 
to the river, on its western side, and joining it again below Babylon. 

2. The Naarmalcha, or "Royal River/' drawn from the Euphrates 
in a south-eastern direction to the Tigris, and navigable for ships of 
considerable burden. 3. The Pallakopas, drawn from the Euphrates 
below Babylon, and extending into the desert country on the west, 
where it terminated in some lakes. 

III. The only tree that flourished in this soil was the palm, of 
which there were great numbers. The want of wood and stone was 
supplied by an inexhaustible abundance of clay for making bricks. 
These were baked in the sun. Instead of lime they used, naphtha 
or bitumen, of which there were large fountains here. 

Divisions, Inhabitants, etc. 

I. Babylonia was anciently divided into two districts, namely, 
Babylonia Proper and Chaldsea. The former comprised the coun- 
try extending southward from Mesopotamia, and enclosed between 
the Euphrates and Tigris. Chaldsea, on the other hand, in this its 
limited sense, meant the country lying along the right bank of the 
Euphrates, and extending as far into the desert on the west as this 
could be rendered fertile by irrigation. Chaldsea, however, in this 
use of the term, must not be confounded with the same appellation 
when employed in its more extended sense, for then it denotes the 
whole country of Babylonia, and by Chaldsea are then meant the 
whole race. 

21 (241) 



242 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

II. The mountaineer Chaldsei of the Carduchian chain in Arme- 
nia, are regarded by Gesenius and others as the original stock of the 
Chaldgeans or Babylonians. Some descendants of these mountaineers, 
the Chasdim, namely, of the Old Testament, appear to have settled 
at a remote period in the plains of Babylonia, and, after having been 
subject to the Assyrians, to have there subsequently founded a Chal- 
daeo-Babylonian empire. The language spoken at Babylon, and 
which is always called the Chaldsean language, was of the Shemitic 
stock. 

According to the Old Testament, the foundation of the Chaldaean 
empire was laid by Nimrod in the plains of Shinar. This empire 
flourished most under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar, the latter 
of whom carried away the inhabitants of Jerusalem in captivity to 
Babylon. The Chaldaean empire ended with the taking of Babylon 
by Cyrus, and the reduction of the country to a Persian province, 
B.C. 538. 

III. The favourable position of Babylonia, midway between the 
Indus and the Mediterranean, in the neighbourhood of the Persian 
Gulf, and between two navigable rivers, rendered it, and its capital 
Babylon, the centre of commercial communication between Upper 
and Lower Asia. The land trade was carried on by means of 
caravans, eastward with India, from which country they imported 
precious stones, dyes, pearls, wood for ship-building, and cotton; 
westward with Asia and Phoenicia, up the Euphrates as far as 
Thapsacus, and thence by caravans. 

Babylon itself was famous for superior linen, woollen and cotton 
cloths, and carpets, which formed valuable articles of export. 

Maritime commerce, on the other hand, was carried on, not so 
much by the Babylonians themselves, as through the Phoenicians 
who settled on their coasts. 

Places in Babylonia Proper. 

1. Babylonia, the capital of the empire, situate on both sides of 
the Euphrates. Its founder is not known. Herodotus says that the 
building of Babylonia was the work of several successive sovereigns ; 
but among them he distinguishes two queens — Semiramis and Nito- 
cris, to whom the city was indebted for numerous improvements. 
Babylon was built in the form of a square, each side being one hun- 
dred and twenty stadia in length, which makes the circuit four hun- 
dred and eighty stadia, or above fifty miles. The walls were of 
brick, and fifty royal cubits thick, and two hundred high, with two 
hundred and fifty towers, and one hundred brazen gates. The 
Euphrates ran through the city and divided it into two parts. The 
city, however, was by no means thickly inhabited, a great portion of 
the space within the walls being occupied by fields and gardens. In 
one division of the city was the palace, with its hanging gardens, that 



PLACES IN BABYLONIA PROPER. 243 

is, gardens laid out in the form of terraces over arches. In the other 
division was the temple of Belus, a building of enormous size, con- 
sisting of eight stages surmounted by a large temple. After the death 
of Alexander, Babylon, which he had intended for the capital of his 
empire, fell to the share of Seleucus, but was neglected by him, and 
''allowed to decline. The founding of Seleucia in its vicinity completed 
its downfall. The ruins of the present day consist of mounds of 
earth and brick-work intermingled. 

2. Seleucia j on the western bank of the Tigris, about forty -five 
miles to the north of Babylon. It was founded by and called after 
Seleucus Nicator, and was the capital of the Macedonian conquests 
in Upper Asia. Its population is said to have been six hundred 
thousand. The rise of Ctesiphon, on the other side of the Tigris, 
proved greatly injurious to Seleucia \ but it received its deathblow 
from the Romans, having been first plundered and partially consumed 
by them in the reign of Trajan, and finally destroyed in that of 
Verus. The ruins of Seleucia and Ctesiphon are now called El- 
Madain, or " the (two) cities." 

3. Cache, to the south-east, on the Tigris, and famed for the beauty 
of the surrounding country. 4. Cunaxa, a few miles below the 
entrance of the wall of Media, and, according to Plutarch, five hun- 
dred stadia from Babylon. Here the celebrated battle was fought 
between Artaxerxes Mnemon and his brother, Cyrus the younger, in 
which the latter lost his life. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

From the First Conquest by the Assyrians to the 
Captivity. 

b. c. 772—606. 

To return to the history of Judah and Israel. Menahem was the 
first to yield to the rising power of the Assyrian kings. At the 
price of an impoverishing drain upon the wealth of his provinces and 
of the nation, he purchased peace with Pul, the Assyrian king. 
(2 Kings xv. 19, 20.) 

About thirty years later, Tiglath-Pileser, the successor of Pul, at 
the request of Ahaz, a weak, wicked, and cowardly prince, who dis- 
graced the throne of David, returned and made a conquest of Syria 
and Galilee, and all the territory east of Jordan. 

Several places are mentioned which indicate the progress of the 
invading army through Naphtali, west of Mount Hermon and the 
waters of Merom. Ijon, Hazor, Abel-bethmaacha, and Kedesh, are 
all identified as on the line of march from north to south, towards the 
plain of Esdraelon. (2 Kings xv. 29.) From Galilee, the army 
appears to have turned eastward for the conquest of Galilee beyond 
Jordan. 

Rezin, the king of Syria, was slain, and his principal men were 
carried away captive, and colonized in the mountainous country west 
of the Caspian Sea, on the river Kir (Cyrus), a branch of the 
Araxes, which flows into that sea. Thus terminated the Syrian 
empire, b. c. 740. " A people of a foreign aspect," says Jahn, 
" dwell there at this time, who may be the descendants of these 
captives." 

Many of the Israelites, and particularly the tribes of Reuben, Gad, 
and Manasseh, were also carried into captivity, and settled in the 
Assyrian empire. 

The occasion of this invasion of Tiglath-Pileser was as follows : — 
Pekah, king of Israel, and Rezin, king of Syria, had conspired 
together against Judah (2 Kings xvi. 5) ; though in the siege of 
Jerusalem they were not successful (Isa. vii. 1 — 9), they succeeded 
in reducing Ahaz to great distress. Rezin tc&ok Elath, on the Red 
Sea, and smote Ahaz, and carried away captive a multitude to 
Damascus. (2 Chron. xxviii. 5.) 

(244) 



COLONIES OF ISRAEL. 245 

Pekah also slew in a single battle 120,000. At the same time 
the Philistines on the west, and the Edomites on the east, invaded 
Jnclah. 

In this extremity Ahaz entreated Tiglath-Pileser to make a 
diversion in his favour by invading the kingdoms of Syria and 
Israel. To accomplish this, Ahaz became a voluntary vassal of 
the Assyrian, and sent him a subsidy of all the sacred and royal 
treasures. 

The result of this expedient, as has been already related, was 
the overthrow of the Syrian empire, the head of which was Da- 
mascus. (2 Kings xvi. ; 2 Chron. xxviii.) Ahaz found a grave in 
Jerusalem, B. c. 727, but was denied a sepulchre with the kings of 
Judah. 

Israel was now ripening fast for that destruction which the pro- 
phets had foretold. Soon after his losses by the invasion of the 
Assyrians, Pekah, king of Israel, was assassinated by Hoshea. 
Then, before Hosbea established himself on the the throne, followed 
a cruel anarchy of ten years, until b. c. 732. 

Of this disordered state Isaiah gives a vivid picture : " None spares 
another; they eat on the right and hunger; they devour on the left 
and are not satisfied ; they eat each one the flesh of his own arm ; 
Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; and both against 
Judah." (Isa. ix. 20, 21.) 

Hoshea soon became tributary to Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; 
but two or three years afterwards attempted to throw off the yoke. 
Seeking the aid of So, king of Egypt, he refused his tribute to 
Shalmaneser, and imprisoned the Assyrian officer who was appointed 
to collect it. (2 Kings xvii.) 

This indiscretion brought back against Israel the hosts of Assyria, 
who after a siege of three years took Samaria, and completed the 
destruction of the kingdom of Israel, B. C. 721, and 257 years after 
the schism in the reign of Jeroboam. 

Hoshea was carried in chains to Nineveh, and his soldiers, 
armourers, and the principal inhabitants, were carried away captive 
beyond the Tigris to the cities of the Medes. 

Colonies in the Kingdom of Israel. 

On the other hand, colonists were sent out from Assyria, and 
settled in the depopulated land of Israel. These mingled with the 
people of the land, the dregs of Israel who had been left, and formed 
a mixed race, who were called Samaritans, inhabitants of Samaria. 
At first they were all idolaters ; but, suffering from the ravages of 
wild beasts (2 Kings xvii. 26), in punishment, as they imagined, of 
their neglect of the God of the country, they recalled an Israelitish 
priest to instruct them in the worship of this God, 
21* 



246 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

This priest settled at Bethel, where one of the golden calves had 
stood. The result was that they combined the worship of God with 
their own idolatries. This was the origin of the sect of the Samari- 
tans, who, however, gradually purified their worship from idolatry, 
and returned in a great measure to the religion of the Jews ; but 
retained only the sacred books which had been recognised by the 
whole nation previous to the revolt of the ten tribes. 

Captive Israelites. 

We now turn to the settlement of the Israelites in the land of 
their captivity. It is generally admitted that the remotest province 
of the Assyrian empire, beyond the mountains of Kurdistan, and not 
far from the south-west coast of the Caspian Sea, was selected as the 
scene of Israel's captivity. This province lies at some distance south 
of Kir, to which the Syrians had been previously exiled. 

Grozan is the modern Kizzil-ouran, the Amardus of Ptolemy, which 
rises in the north-eastern mountains of the Kurds, and runs by a 
very circuitous route into the Caspian Sea. "Its course is very 
rapid, though in a serpentine direction; and being augmented by 
several streams, which rise near the town of Banna, in the north- 
eastern branch of the Kurdistan mountains, it pours majestically 
along through a vast stretch of hilly country northward, until it 
enters Grhilan, where thundering forward amidst the most majestic 
scenery, it discharges itself at length into the Caspian Sea." Some- 
where upon this river, then, we must look for the position of Halah 
and Habor. (2 Kings xvii. 6.) 

The Assyrian colonies that were sent out to the territory of Israel, 
were gathered from Babylon, from Cuthar, Ava, Aamath, and 
Sepharvaim. (2 Kings xvii. 24.) 

The two first mentioned were provinces of Babylonia, which was 
at this time subject- to the power of Assyria. Merodachbaladan, who 
sent to congratulate Hezekiah on his recovery from sickness, was a 
tributary prince of this country, which soon gains the ascendancy 
over Assyria. (2 Kings xx. 12, seq.') 

Ava is supposed to have been a province of Mesopotamia. Sephar- 
vaim was in the southern extremity of this province, near the junction 
of the Euphrates and the Tigris. 

Prophets before the Exile. 

Several of the prophets lived in the reigns of some of the later 
kings of Israel, whose writings should be read in connection with the 
history of the reigns to which they belong. Joel flourished under 
the reign of Jeroboam II., E. c. 787. 

Amos was contemporary with him, under the reigns of Uzziah 
and Jeroboam, 788 B. 0. Hosea exercised the prophetic office for 
more than half a century, under the successive reigns of Uzziah, 



PROPHETS BEFORE THE EXILE. 247 

Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Micah was contemporary with Isaiah. 
Nahum lived between B. c. 721 and 713, Zephaniah before 628, and 
Habbakuk b. C. 606. 

There is little in these prophets that requires distinct geographical 
notice. The places mentioned by them have, for the most part, 
been already noted in previous history. Aven, in Amos i. 5, is 
the valley of Coele-Syria, between the ranges of Lebanon. Eden is 
a pleasant valley, near Damascus. Teman means the south, here 
put for Edom. Bozra is the modern Buserah, on the caravan route, 
a few miles north of Petra. It is situated on a hill, surmounted by 
a castle and surrounded by ruins. 

Rabbah was taken by Joab, under David. Before its walls the 
unsuspecting Uriah fell, in the fore front of the hottest of the battle. 

Kuroth (Amos ii. 2) is either a general name for the cities of 
Moab, or else is the same as Kir-Moab. It will receive more par- 
ticular notice in connection with other towns of Moab, mentioned by 
the prophet Isaiah. (Chap, xv.) 

Calneh is the same as Calon of Isaiah x. 9, and Canneh of Ezekiel 
xxvii. 23, the fourth city of Nimrod, subsequently known in history 
as Ctesiphon. It lay upon the east of the Tigris, opposite Seleucia. 
Very extensive walls and canals are still remaining, indicating the 
remains of a great and opulent city. These remains of this city have 
been described by an English traveller, from whose works the descrip- 
tion of a single building is given : — 

" From the bed of the canal, and a quarter of a mile to the north- 
west, over a space marked by memorials of the past, interspersed 
with patches of the camel-thorn, stands the Tauk Kesra, a magnifi- 
cent monument of antiquity, surprising the spectator with the perfect 
state of its preservation, after having braved the warring elements 
for so many ages ; without an emblem to throw any light upon its 
history; without proof or character to be traced on any brick or wall. 
This stupendous stately fragment of ages long since forgot, is built 
of fine furnace-burnt bricks, each measuring 12 inches square by 2f 
inches thick, and coated with cement. 

" The full extent of the front, or eastern face, is 300 feet. It is 
divided by a high semicircular arch, supported by walls 16 feet thick, 
the arch itself making a span of 86 feet, and rising to the height of 
103 feet. The front of the building is ornamented and surmounted 
by four rows of small arched recesses, resembling in form the large 
one. The style and execution of these are most delicate, evincing a 
fertile invention and great experience in the architectural art. 

" From the vestibule, a hall extends to the depth of 156 feet east 
and west, where a wall forms the back building, a great portion of 
which, together with part the roof, is broken down. 

"In the centre of the wall, or western face of the structure, a door- 
way, measuring 24 feet high by 12 feet wide, leads to a contiguous 



248 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

heap of mounds, extending to the bank of the river, about a quarter 
of a mile distant. The general shape of these hillocks is elliptical, 
and their circumference two miles. 

" To the right are fragments of walls and broken masses of brick- 
work ; to the left, and therefore to the south, of the arch, are the 
remains of vast structures, which, though encumbered with heaps of 
earth, are yet sufficiently visible to fill the mind of the spectator with 
astonishment, at the thought that the destroying hand of time could 
have failed in entirely concealing from the inquiring eye these wrecks 
of remote antiquity/' * 

"Is not Calno as Carchemish V (Isa. x. 9) — (both vanquished.) 
This is the Circessum of profane history, a strongly fortified town 
on the Euphrates, about 300 miles above Babylon. It was the re- 
motest outpost of the Roman empire towards the Euphrates, in the 
direction of Persia. Jeremiah (xlvi. 2) uttered a prophecy against 
the army of Necho, king of Egypt, who, five years before, while be- 
sieging this place, when on the way to Carchemish, had mortally 
wounded Josiah, king of Judah, near Megiddo. (2 Chron. xxxv.) 

Beth-aven (house of vanity), in Hosea iv. 15, is the name of 
Bethel, given it as a nickname after it became the seat of idolatry 
by the worship of the golden calves, under Jeroboam. 

Gibeah, Bam ah, and Bethel (Beth-aven), are situated on different 
eminences, north of Jerusalem, and nearly in a line, like suitable 
watch-towers, from which to sound the alarm to Ephraim and Benja- 
min of their approaching captivity. (Hosea v. 8.) 

Aven, in Hosea x. 8, is not a name of a town, but the high places 
of vanity, of idolatry, the sin of Israel to be destroyed. 

Beth-arbel (Hosea x. 14), called also Arbela, is a remarkable re- 
treat, near the western shore of the sea of Galilee, which, in the days 
of Herod the Great, was the haunt of robbers, so numerous that they 
became the terror of the surrounding country. 

This fortress consists of caves in a deep cleft in the rocks. The 
only access to them is by a very difficult ascent along the precipitous 
sides of the cleft. They are at considerable height from the base, 
and are protected from above by perpendicular cliffs. These caves 
are large enough to receive several hundred men, who, securely 
lodged in these fastnesses, could easily defend themselves against 
attack. 

The only method which Herod could devise to dislodge his enemy 
was to let down soldiers in boxes, suspended by chains from above, 
who, from this novel position, assailed with fire and sword such as 
defended the entrance, or dragged them out with long hooks and 
dashed them down the precipice. In this way the place was at length 
subdued. It is mentioned in no other place in the Scriptures, but 

* Mignan's 'Travels in Chaldea,' p. 69, quoted by Rosenmuller. 



INVASION OP MOAB. 249 

repeatedly noticed by Josephus, who, during his command in Galilee, 
defended himself here against the Romans. 

Isaiah ii. 13, alludes to the fertility of Bashan in oaks. This 
country, lying east of the Sea of Galilee, and extending some distance 
north and south of it, is still celebrated, as it was of old, for its fer- 
tility and exuberant vegetation. 

Calno and Carchemish (Isa. x. 9) have been already noticed. 
Hamath and Arpad occur in the history of Hezekiah. (2 Kings 
xviii. 34; xix. 13.) 

Approach of the Assyrian. 

In the same chapter (Isaiah x. 28 — 32) the prophet sketches, 
with unrivalled sublimity and beauty, the progress of the invading 
army to lay siege to Jerusalem. The approach of the invader is from 
the north-east, and his advance may be easily traced upon the map 
as described by the prophet. His language is precisely that of an 
eye-witness, describing at the moment what he actually sees. The 
enemy is first seen in the frontiers of Judah at Aiath, the same as 
Ai, after the fall of Jericho, the first place conquered by the Israel- 
ites on taking possession of the land. 

They move on through Migron, now unknown. At Michmash, 
still nearer, on the slope of the steep valley beyond Geba, he has 
laid up his carriages, stores, and baggage, as some suppose, because 
of the deep and difficult pass which led between these towns. 

They have crossed the pass. In Geba they have taken up their 
lodging for the night. The neighbouring towns are filled with con- 
sternation. Ramah, on the west, though not on the direct line of 
march, is afraid, and trembles with apprehension at the enemy's 
approach; and Gribeah of Saul, more distant still, yet seized with 
greater consternation, is fled. Other towns in the neighbourhood 
now raise their cry of alarm. The daughter of Gallim, near by, is 
exhorted to raise high her shrieks of distress ; and poor Anathoth, 
to listen to the response as it returns from Laish or Dan, at the re- 
motest extremity of the country. Madmena flies, and the inhabitants 
of Gebiin betake themselves to flight. 

The next verse conducts the enemy to the last stage of his march. 
To-day, i. e., already ', he has taken his position at Nob, just above 
the Mount of Olives, where he stands and shakes his hand in defi- 
ance against the mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jeru- 
salem. 

Invasion of Moab. 

A similar pictorial scene of distress is given in Isaiah xv., where, 
in a strong personification, many of the chief towns of Moab are 
represented as grieving over the conquest and desolation of the 



250 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

country. In a night Ar of Moab is laid waste, is destroyed in a 
night. 

Kir of Moab was on the southern frontier of this country, seven- 
teen miles east of the promontory or isthmus of the Dead Sea, where 
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are supposed to have been situ- 
ated. It is known by the name of Kerak, and is at present the 
only inhabited town in the whole country of Moab. 

It is near the head of a valley which runs down to the plain of 
Sodom, and opens a prospect of the Dead Sea, and of the region 
beyond, quite to Jerusalem. 

There is here a strong castle, now in ruins, on a high hill sur- 
rounded by a deep valley with perpendicular sides, and almost im- 
pregnable by the ancient mode of warfare. 

This city is the same as Kirhavesheth, which was taken and 
destroyed by Jehoshaphat and Jehoram. In the times of the Cru- 
sades it sustained a siege of four years against the forces of Saladin, 
and was finally reduced only by hunger. 

A poor, oppressed company of native Christians at this place has 
lately been brought into notice by Lieutenant Lynch. 

Ar of Moab was eight miles north of Kerak. The ruins of this 
place, consisting of a temple and various columns, are scattered over 
a hill half a mile in circumference, which commands a good prospect 
of the surrounding desolation. 

Verse 2. They go up to the house of their gods, to the high 
places, and to Dibon, weeping. Bajith is not the name of a place, 
but the Hebrew name of a house or temple. Dibon is some twelve 
miles north of Ar, three or four miles north of the Arnon, and was 
the first station of the Israelites after crossing that river. (Num. 
xxi. 30.) 

" On Nemo and Medeba Moab howls ; on all their heads bald- 
ness — every beard cut off." Medeba is on a hill at the head of a 
low valley, fifteen miles north of Dibon. It is in utter ruin ; but 
considerable remains of an old temple are still standing, a waste and 
desolate heap, to indicate the position of the place. 

Verse 4. " Heshbon cries and Elealeh — even to Jahaz is their voice 
heard." Heshbon, already described, is five miles north of Medeba, 
and Elealeh half that distance further north. 

Jahaz is several times mentioned in the Scriptures, but its loca- 
tion cannot well be defined. 

Verse 5. At the sight of the distress of the fugitives of Moab 
fleeing to Zoar, the prophet utters his pathetic exclamation, "My 
heart cries out for Moab — her fugitives fleeing to Zoar." This is 
still recognized on the plain by the isthmus of the peninsula of 
Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Luhith and Horonaim are mentioned only here and in Jeremiah 
xlviii. 3, 5. Luhith, according to Eusebius, was between Ar and 



INVASION OF MOAB. 251 

Zoar, and, from a comparison of these passages, it is supposed that 
these two towns may have been on the opposite sides of the 
same hill. So that the fugitives in passing over it are seen going 
up the ascent of Luhith and down the descent of Horonaim, and 
weeping as they go. 

Yerse 6. About eight or ten miles above the mouth of the Jor- 
dan is a small valley and brook, which corresponds to the waters of 
Nimrirn. The place still bears its ancient name. These waters are 
dried up ; withered the grass, gone the herbage ; verdure none. 

Verse 7. What little remains to the inhabitants of their effects, 
they are carrying away over the brook of the willows — generally 
understood to be the long deep valley which opens upon the south- 
east corner of the Dead Sea, the extreme limit of Moab, from which 
they are running into Edom. 

Verse 8. All around, the land is filled with lamentation. This 
wailing is heard in Eglaim and at Beer-elim. The first of these 
places is said by Jerome to have been near the mouth of the Jor- 
dan. Beer-elim, the well of the mighty ones, is the same that the 
nobles and princes dug with their staves. (Num. xxi. 18.) If 
these localities are correctly given, they are equivalent to the general 
expression, the whole length of the land is filled with their wailings. 

Verse 9. The waters of Dimon are supposed to be the same as 
those by which the Moabites were deceived in their rebellion against 
Jehoram. (2 Kings iii. 20, 22.) These waters are not now, as then, 
red in appearance, but in reality — red with blood, the blood of their 
slain. 

Sela, chapter xvi. 1, is the same as Petra, already described. 

Sibmah, verse 8, famous for its vines, was not more than half a 
mile from Heshbon. Passing down a deep defile, south-west from 
Kamoth-Grilead, one soon arrives at extensive ruins and foundations 
which indicate the site of a large ancient city. Near by this is a fine 
fountain of water. This is supposed to be the sea of Jazer of Jere- 
miah xlviii. 32 ; and these ruins the remains of Jazer, to which the 
luxuriant vines of Sibmah and of Moab extended quite beyond that 
country, and some distance above the northern point of the Dead Sea. 

Ethiopia (Isa. xviii. 1) is Upper Egypt, the region of ancient 
Thebes and modern Abyssinia. 

Noph, called also Moph, whose princes have become infatuated 
(Isa. xix. 13), was the Memphis of ancient geographers and histo- 
rians. It was a large and flourishing city in the time of the patri- 
archs. 

It was situated on the west side of the Nile, a short distance above 
Cairo, and near the pyramids. These pyramids, and the immense 
depositories of the dead in these regions, are only a vast necropolis 
of this renowned city. Even its immense and magnificent ruins, 
which Arabian writers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries describe, 



252 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

have almost entirely disappeared. Once a city of fifteen or twenty 
miles in circumference, it has now nothing to mark it out but a few 
mounds, a colossal statue of Barneses the Great, a small figure of red 
granite greatly mutilated, and a few foundations. 

Zoan was situated on an eastern branch of the Nile, on the Delta, 
a few miles from the sea, and was one of the oldest cities in Egypt, 
having been built seven years after Hebron. (Num. xiii. 22.) "The 
field of Zoan," the fine alluvial plain around the city, described as the 
scene of God's marvellous works in the time of Moses (Psa. lxxviii. 
12, 43), is now a barren waste ; but the city is supposed by many 
to have been the residence of Pharaoh. The ground is overspread 
with extensive ruins, remains of temples, fragments of walls, columns, 
and fallen obelisks, which still attest the grandeur of this ancient 
city of the Pharoahs. " A fire has been set in Zoan " (Ezek. xxx. 
14), and few now visit this scene of hopeless desolation. 

In Isaiah xxi. 2, Elam and Media are called to go up and besiege 
Babylon. Elam is an extensive province east of the Euphrates, hav- 
ing Media on the north, and the Persian Gulf on the south. It de- 
signates, in this place, the Persian empire. The prophet there 
summons the Medes and Persians to the conquests of Babylon, which 
commission they fulfilled some 200 years afterwards. 

Dumah (verse 11) is Edom. The caravans of Dedanim are from 
some region south of Edom, who in passing through Edom are con- 
strained, in consequence of the disturbed state of the country, to lodge 
in the thickets of Arabia, for the sake of concealment and security. 

Tema (verse 14), another Arabian tribe, bring water and supply 
bread to the fugitives from the wasted country. 

Kedar, the second son of Ishmael (Gen. xxv. 13), in verse 16, 17, 
represents either a tribe in Arabia, or the whole country collectively. 

Kir (Isa. xxii. 6) is a province of Media west of the Caspian Sea, 
and represent the Medes, as Elam does the Persians, both of whom 
are preparing themselves for battle against Jerusalem. 

Chittim (Isa. xxiii. 1) is the island of Cyprus, originally settled 
by colonies from Phoenicia, and lying within sight of the coast. The 
ships of Tarshish, on touching at this island, receive intelligence of 
the fall of Tyre. 

Sihor (verse 3) is the river Nile, by whose commerce Tyre was 
enriched. 

The land of Sinim (Isa. xlix. 12) is now supposed to be China! 
Even from this distant country shall converts be gathered to the Lord. 

Hezekiah, King of Judah. 

We now return to the history of Hezekiah, who was king over 
Judah when the kingdom of Israel was destroyed. Eight years after 
this event, b. 0. 713, Judah was invaded by Sennacherib, who in 
order to cut off Hezekiah from any relief from the kings of Egypt, 



JEHOIAKIM AND THE CAPTIVITY. 253 

laid siege to Lachish and Libnah, in the south of Judah. Here, 
after the taunting insult of Kabshakeb, and the prayer of Hezekiah, 
the Assyrian army was miraculously overthrown by the judgment of 
God, in the death of 185,000 men in one night. (2 Kings xviii., 
xix. ; 2 Chron. xxix.- — xxxii; Isa. xxxvi. xxxvii.) 

Manasseh and Amon. 

After the death of Hezekiah, the long and wicked reign of Ma- 
nasseh, and the short reign of Amon, succeeded, from 697 to 640 
B. C. These kings left little to be noted respecting themselves but 
their sins. Manasseh, however, repented of his wickedness; and, 
after returning from his captivity in Babylon, sought to make amends 
for his idolatries. He fortified the city by a wall on the west side, 
and built up a wall of defence around Ophel, a high ridge of land 
which extended from the south side of Mount Moriah along the 
valley of Jehoshaphat, and east of Mount Zion to the pool of Siloam. 
(2 Kings xxi. ; 2 Chron. xxxiii.) 

Josiah. 

It is refreshing to turn to the pious king, Josiah, who in early 
childhood inherited the throne of his father ; and, during a reign of 
thirty-one years, religiously sought to exterminate idolatry and restore 
the worship and service of the God of his fathers. 

In the history of his reign nothing occurs worthy of historical 
notice but the circumstance of his death. 

The king of Egypt landed a powerful army at Acre, with the in- 
tention of marching through the country against the king of Baby- 
lon. Josiah, though assured of the friendly intentions of the 
Egyptian monarch, felt himself required, by his allegiance to the 
king of Babylon, to resist the progress of the army of Egypt, and 
was mortally wounded in battle at Megiddo. (2 Kings xxii., xxiii. ; 
2 Chron. xxiv., xxv.) 

Jehoiakim and the Captivity. 

From this period the kingdom of Judah hastened rapidly to ruin. 
Jehoiakim, the unworthy son and successor of Josiah, was one of 
the worst kings that reigned in Jerusalem. He was indebted for 
his crown to the Egyptian king, who dethroned the brother of Je- 
hoiakim at Biblah, and laid the country under contribution. 

In the fourth year of his reign, Jehoiakim became tributary to 
the king of Babylon, when many were carried away captive to Baby- 
lon, among whom were Daniel and his companions, 606 B. c. 

Jehoiakim, however, revolted; and while closely besieged, died. 

The Chaldeans, on gaining possession of the city dragged the dead 

body of the perjured king and remorseless tyrant around the city 

before the wails, and left it unburied ; thus fulfilling the prediction 

22 



254 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

of Jeremiah, that he should be buried with the burial of an ass, 
drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. (Jer. xxii. 19 ; 
xxxvi. 30 ) 2 Kings xxiv. 1 — 6 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5, 6.) 

The Chaldeans now left the city in ruins, and carried away the 
money of the royal treasury, and the golden utensils of the temple 
which Solomon had provided. The whole court, 7,000 soldiers, 
1,000 artificers, and 2,000 nobles and men of wealth, who with their 
wives, children, and servants, probably amounted to 40,000 souls, 
were led into captivity to the river Chebar, in Mesopotamia. Among 
these captives was the prophet Ezekiel. (2 Kings xxiv. 8 — 18 ; 
2 Chron. xxxvi. 9, 10 ; t Jer. lii. 28; Comp. Isa. xxxix. 3 — 8.) 

Destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. 

Jerusalem is ruined. (Isaiah iii. 8.) Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a 
desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised 
thee, is burned up with fire ; and all our pleasant things are laid waste. 
(Isaiah lxiv. 10, 11.) 

Then will I cause to cease from . . . the streets of Jerusalem, the voice 
of mirth and the voice of gladness ; the voice of the bridegroom and the 
. voice of the bride. (Jer. vii. 34.) 

And I will make this city desolate and an hissing ; every one that passeth 
thereby shall be astonished and hiss, because of all the plagues thereof. 
(Jer. xix. 8.) 

All that pass by clap their hands at thee ; they hiss and wag their head 
at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call the per- 
fection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth? (Lamentations ii. 15.) 

Zion (shall be) ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps. 
(Micahiii. 12.) 

The seventy years of the captivity are reckoned as beginning with 
the first conquest of Nebuchadnezzar, B. C. 606, when Daniel and 
his companions were carried to Babylon. The second conquest com- 
pleted the overthrow of Jerusalem. Still a considerable number 
of the lower class of people remained in the land, over whom Zede- 
kiah, an unworthy son of Josiah, reigned as king under Nebuchad- 
nezzar. 

Notwithstanding all the remonstrances of Jeremiah, these rem- 
nants of the captivity continued to entertain confident expectations 
of delivering themselves from the power of the Babylonians. This 
deliverance Zedekiah, in the ninth year of his reign, rashly attempted 
to accomplish. This revolt brought against the city the army of the 
Babylonians, who laid it under a close siege, which, by famine, soon 
compelled the inhabitants to surrender. The Babylonians now broke 
down the fortifications, set fire to the city, and palace of the kings, 
and " burned with fire the temple, that holy and beautiful house of 
the Jews, and laid waste all their pleasant things." (2 Kings xxv. 
8—21; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 17—21; Jer. lii. 12, seq.) 

This destruction of Jerusalem, according to the computation which 
we have followed, falls on the three hundred and ninety-first year of 






DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 255 

the revolt of the ten tribes, and the eighteenth of the captivity. Id 
round numbers it is sufficient for the general reader to remember the 
following data : the captivity began B. c. 606, almost 400 years after 
the revolt, and from 100 to 150 years after the captivity of the ten 
tribes. The temple was destroyed in the eighteenth year of the cap- 
tivity, and 419 years from its dedication. 

Zedekiah was pursued and taken on the plains of Jericho, and 
carried to Riblah, in the land of Hamath, where Jehoahaz had been 
put in bands some years before by Pharaoh Necho. (2 Kings xxiii 
33.) Here Zedekiah' s sons were put to death in his presence, then 
his own eyes were put out, and he was led thence to Babylon in 
chains. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Ezekiel, that he should 
go into that splendid city and not see it. (Ezek. xvii. 13 — 15 ; xii 
13 ; Jer. xxvii. 3 — 10 ; 2 Kings xxv. 1 — 7 ; 2 Chron. xxxvi 
17—21.) 

Riblah, still known by the same name, lies between the two moun- 
tains near the main source of the Orontes, already described. The 
Babylonians and other eastern armies, in their incursions into Pales- 
tine, were accustomed to advance and return through this pass between 
the mountains. (Num. xxxiv. 11; 2 Kings xxiii. 33; xxv. 20; 
Jer. xxxix. 5; lii. 10.) Near this place is a remarkable monument, 
which Mr. Thompson notices as follows : — 

" It is built of large hewn stones, is twenty-five feet square at the 

base, rises seventy or eighty feet, and is terminated by a pyramid. 

The four sides are covered with figures of various animals, intermin 

gled with bows, arrows, spears, and other implements of the chase, 

, in alto relievo, beautifully executed and as large as life. 

" This monument is in full view of Riblah, which lies on the river 
below. Can it have been the work of Nebuchadnezzar, when he was 
encamped here, and designed to commemorate his conquests ? Or is 
it a great hunting trophy, erected by some one of the chase-loving 
Seleucidse ? I can meet with no description of this wonderful monu- 
ment in any book of travels. The style of architecture will not 
contradict the first supposition/' 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Land of the Captivity. 

Chebar is a large river of Mesopotamia, which discharges its waters 
into the Euphrates, 200 miles or more above Babylon, at Carchemish, 
where Nebuchadnezzar conquered Necho, the king of Egypt. The 
country where the Jewish exiles were colonized, was at this time a 
frontier province of Babylon. 

Persis. 

I. Persis, or Persia, called in Scripture Paras, and by the Arabic 
and Persian writers Pars or Faristan, is used in two significations ; 
first as applying to Persia Proper, or the country originally inhabited 
by the Persians; and, secondly, as denoting the Persian Empire. 

II. Persis, or Persia Proper, was bounded on the north by Media 
and Parthia, on the east by Carmanid, on the west by Susiana, 
and on the south-west and south by the Persian Gulf. 

The country included within these limits is as large as modern 
France. 

The southern part, near the coast, is a sandy plain, almost unin- 
habitable on account of the heat and the pestilential winds which 
blow from the desert of Carmania ; but at some distance from the 
coast the ground rises, and the interior of the country is intersected 
by numerous mountain ranges. This part of Persia was the original 
seat of the conquerors of Asia, where they were inured to hardship 
and privation. 

III. The principal rivers were, — 1. The Araxes, rising in the 
mountains of ParseMceni, flowing by Persepolis, where it receives 
the Medus, coming from Media, and emptying into a salt lake, now 
the Lake of Bakhtegan, to the south-east of the city just mentioned. 
The Araxes is now the Bend-emir ; and the Medus the Farwar or 
Sehamior. 2. The Cyrus, flowing by Pasargadoe, and now probably 
the Khor. 

Inhabitants, History, etc. 

I. The Persians, on account of the variety of their soil, were partly 
nomades, partly agriculturists. 

Herodotus enumerates four nomadic or herdsmen castes, three 
agricultural, and three warrior castes. These last were called the 

(256) 



PLACES IN PER SIS. 257 

Pasargadce, Maraphu, and Maspii. Of these, the Pasargadoe were 
the noblest, to the chief class of which, called the Achsemenidse, the 
royal family of Persia belonged. 

II. Herodotus says that the Persians were originally called Artcei, 
which word probably contains the same root as Arii, the original 
name of the Medes, and Arya, the word by which the followers of 
the Brahmanic religion are designed in Sanscrit. The same root 
occurs in Aria and Ariana, from the latter of which the modern 
Persian name Iran seems to be derived. 

III. At the earliest period of which any trace is preserved, Per- 
sis appears to have formed merely a province of the great Assyrian 
empire. 

On the disruption of this empire it fell under the power of the 
Medes. The Median yoke was broken by Cyrus, who laid the foun- 
dation of the great Persian empire, which his successors gradually 
enlarged, until it embraced the larger portion of Asia, together with 
Thrace and Macedonia in Europe, and, in Africa, Egypt and the 
neighbouring country of Libya. This empire was overthrown by 
Alexander, on whose death Persis fell to the lot of the Seleucidae. 
It was wrested from them subsequently by the Parthians, and from 
these last it afterward passed into the hands of the Sassanidae, or 
new Persian dynasty. 

Places in Persis. 

1. Pasargadoe : — a very ancient city, and the royal residence pre- 
vious to the founding of Persepolis. It is said to have been built 
by Cyrus after his victory over Astyages the Mede, which he gained 
near this place. 

The kings of Persia, according to Plutarch, were consecrated here 
by the Magi, and here also was the tomb of Cyrus. The position 
of Pasargadoe has been a subject of much dispute. Many modern 
writers, following Morier and Sir R. K. Porter, have been disposed 
to place it in what is now the plain of Murgliab, about fifty miles 
north-east of Persepolis. Lassen, however, thinks that we ought to 
look for it to the south-east of Persepolis, in the neighbourhood of 
Darabgherdj or Farsa. 2. Persepolis, the capital of Persia, situate 
in an extensive plain near the junction of the Araxes and Medus. 
The Greek writers speak of its citadel, surrounded by a triple wall, 
and containing within its enclosure the royal treasury, palace, and 
the tombs of the kings. The palace was burned by Alexander in a 
fit of intoxication, and the city was plundered by the Macedonian 
soldiery. Persepolis was not, however, laid in ruins on this Occasion, 
as some have supposed, but it is mentioned by subsequent writers as 
still existing ; and even in a later age, under the sway of Mohamme- 
dan princes, this city, with its name changed to Istakhar, was their 
usual place of residence. Oriental historians say that the Persian 
22* 



258 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

name for Persepolis was likewise Istakhar or EstahJiar. The ruins 
of Persepolis, or rather a part of them are now called Tchil-Minar, 
that is, " the forty (or many) pillars/ ' and are described in Sir E. K. 
Porter's Travels. 3. Gabse, another royal residence, near Pasar- 
gadoe. 4. Aspadana, probably the modern Ispahan. 

JUDAH DURING THE CAPTIVITY. 

The people were carried away into captivity, and the country 
drained of its inhabitants by successive removals — the first under 
Jehoiakim, 606 B. c. ; the second, seven years later, 599 b. c, at the 
end of Jehoiakim's reign; the third, at the sacking of Jerusalem 
and burning of the temple, in the eleventh year of the reign of Zede- 
kiah, b. C. 588. Soon after this, upon the murder of Gedeliah 
(2 Kings xxv. 25, 26), many fled into Egypt, to escape the vengeance 
of the Chaldees. Four years after this, the few that remained were 
taken away by Nebuchadnezzar, and the land was entirely bereaved 
of its inhabitants. 

In the mean time other colonists were not introduced, as they had 
been in Samaria when Israel went into captivity. (2 Kings xxv. 22 — 
26 : Jer. xl. — xliii.) The Idumeans settled in some parts of the 
country, and wandering tribes roamed over it ; but the land, for the 
most part, remained uninhabited, and ready for the reception of the 
Hebrews, who were once more to occupy the country to which they 
were now exiled. All this had been predicted ages before by Moses, 
and succeeding prophets had given more circumstantial predictions 
of the same events. (Deut. xxviii. 36, 49.) 



CHAPTER X IX. 

The later Prophets and the Restoration. 

b. c. 606—400. 

The geography of the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, next 
claims our attention. These prophets all lived in the time of the 
Babylonish captivity. Jeremiah remained in Judea with the rem- 
nant of his people, over whom Gedaliah was made governor ; and, 
after the assassination of this prince, accompanied the fugitives to 
Egypt. Daniel was carried to Babylon with the first company of 
captives, and Ezekiel with the second. 

Jeremiah was a native of Anathoth, four miles north of Jerusa- 
lem. He began his prophecies in the thirteenth year of Josiah, 
628 B. C, and continued his prophetic office more than forty years. 
He witnessed the destruction of the holy city and the burning of 
the temple ; after which he retired with the last remnant of his people 
into Egypt, from which he dates several of his prophecies. The 
Jewish tradition respecting him is, that he spent the remainder of 
his life in Egypt, and suffered a violent- death at Tahpanhes; but 
there is no certain information respecting either the time, place, or 
manner of his death. 

In chapter ii. 18, when reproving Judah for seeking " like a silly 
dove," the protection of Egypt, from which they had suffered so 
much, he refers to the river Nile under the name of the waters of 
Sihor. Noph and Tahpanhes, which had severely treated them 
(verse 16), are cities to which they vainly flee for refuge. See 
chapters xliii. 7 ; xliv. 1. 

Tophet (Jer. vii. 31), was a place in the valley of the sons of 
Hinnom, below Jerusalem, and a little south-east of the city, in 
which the Canaanites, and afterwards the Israelites, offered their 
children to Moloch. Josiah defiled this place to prevent the use 
of it for such abominations. 

A perpetual fire is supposed to have been kept there to consume 
the refuse materials gathered from the city, the bodies of such ani- 
mals as died, and other decaying substances ; hence, under the name 
of Gehenna, it became a fit emblem of hell. Tophet and Gehenna 
are frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, with various references 
to the abominations perpetrated there. 

Jer. xxv. The prophet is directed to take the wine-cup of Divine 

(259) 



260 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

wrath and cause all the people to drink it. Judah, Egypt, and the 
mingled people, the various tribes in and about Egypt. 

With Tyre and Sidon, mention is also made of the Isles beyond 
the Sea, by which commentators understand the islands of the Medi- 
terranean, particularly Cyprus. 

Dedan, Tema, and Buz, are regarded by Ritter (Erdkunde, xiii. 
385, 386) as provinces in the Desert of Arabia, east of Mount Seir 
or Edom, and near the land of Uz. 

Zimri (verse 25) is supposed by Ritter to be a province of Arabia 
Felix, in or near the road over Yemen, south-east of Mecca. (Erd- 
kunde, xii. 280.) 

Sheshach (verse 26) is the same as Babylon. (Jer. li. 41.) 

In his prophecy against Egypt (chap, xliii.), Jeremiah specifies 
two cities as particularly subjects of Divine displeasure, Tahpanhes 
and Beth-shemesh. The first of these was a large city on the eastern 
or Pelusiac arm of the Nile, sixteen miles from Pelusium. Here a 
colony of the Jews settled, who fled into Egypt after the murder of 
Gedaliah. It is several times mentioned by the prophets (Jer. ii. 
16 ; xliv. 1 ; xlvi. 14 ; Ezek. xxx. 18), and is known in profane 
history under the the name of Daphne. 

Beth-shemesh, known as On, the city of the priest whose daughter 
Joseph married (Gen. xli. 45), and by the Septuagint identical with 
Aven of Ezekiel (Ezek. xxx. 17), is the ancient Heliopolis, " City 
of the Sun/' of Herodotus. It is seven or eight miles north-north- 
east from Cairo. 

It was famous for the temple of the Sun, and many other magnifi- 
cent structures, all of which have crumbled down to indiscriminate 
heaps of ruins, and are covered with the sands of the desert, which 
have encroached upon the city and buried it in the grave. One lone 
obelisk towers aloft in solitary grandeur, as a sepulchral monument 
of the city which for thousands of years has lain entombed at its 
base. 

This venerable monument is covered with hieroglyphics, which 
record the name of Osirtasen the First, who is regarded by the 
learned as that Pharaoh to whom Joseph interpreted his dream, and 
who so kindly honoured him, and hospitably entertained the vener- 
able patriarch Jacob and his family. 

The traveller, therefore, here gazes upon the same lofty spire which 
more than three thousand, years ago may have first caught the eye 
of that ancient patriarch, while yet far away out in the desert, and 
which greeted his approach to the city of the Pharaohs. 

This obelisk, a single shaft, is sixty-two feet in height, and six 
feet square at the base, which rests on a pedestal ten feet square and 
two thick, and this again lies upon a second pedestal nineteen feet 
square, but its depth has not been ascertained. If this lower pedestal 



CITY OF NO. 261 

is a solid cube, the entire height of the pillar must have been more 
than eighty feet. 

Near this obelisk is an ancient sycamore tree, beneath which tradi- 
tion relates that the holy family of Joseph and Mary reclined when 
they went down into Egypt. 

In his rebuke of the Jews who dwelt in the several cities of Egypt, 
the prophet (xliv.- 1) begins his survey with Migdol, on the eastern 
border of the country; then turns westward to Tahpanhes, then 
south up the Nile, to Noph, or Memphis, in central Egypt, and ends 
with the country of Pathros or Thebais, further up the Nile, in 
Upper Egypt. 

City of No. 

In announcing the judgments which were to be executed on Egypt, 
the prophet instances the " multitude of No" as subjects of Divine 
punishment. This is the magnificent city of Thebes, in Upper 
Egypt, five hundred miles above Cairo, at once the most ancient, and 
most vast and stupendous in its ruins, of all the desolate cities of 
antiquity. Thousands have visited these ruins, and volumes have 
been written in description of them ; but no power of the pen or 
pencil can give any adequate conception of their matchless grandeur. 

All that was imposing in the structures even of Babylon and 
Nineveh, sinks into insignificance in comparison with them ; and 
yet Thebes was in ruins before either of these cities flourished. "Art 
thou better than populous No V } says Nahum, when delivering the 
burden of Nineveh, more than 700 b. c. " She was carried away ; 
she went into captivity; her young children also were dashed in 
pieces at the top of all her streets ; and they cast lots for her hon- 
ourable men, and all her great men were bound in chains." (Nahum 
iii. 8, 10.) Homer describes Thebes as — 

The world's great empress on the Egyptian plains ; 
That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states, 
And pours her heroes through a hundred gates. 

We must dismiss this subject by referring the reader to the des- 
criptions of Drs. Robinson, Olin, and Durbin, and of Mr. Stephens. 

In his prophecy against Moab (chap, xlviii.), the prophet particu- 
larizes several towns, the most of which have either occurred before, 
or are now unknown. " Kiriathaim and Misgal are confounded and 
dismayed." The former, celebrated for its connection with the 
earliest warlike expedition on record (Comp. Gen. xiv. 5, with verse 
9), belonged to the tribe of Reuben, at the head of the Larka, east 
of the northern extremity of the Dead Sea, and a mile or two west 
of Medeba. Misgal has not been recovered. 

Dibon and Aroer, formerly cities of Ammon, now belong to Moab. 
In verses 21, 22, the prophet, according to Hitzig, mentions only 



262 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

such places as lay on the plains of Medeba, south of Heshbon. 
(Comp. Josh. xiii. 16.) What was true of these was equally appli- 
cable to all the others. 

Bozrah, Winer supposes, may be some town in this vicinity, and 
not that further north, which is generally known by this name. 
Several of these towns are no more known, and some have been 
already noted. Beth-meon is found two miles south-east of Heshbon. 

Sibmah and Jazer (verse 32) have been noticed in the parallel 
passage of Isaiah xvi. 8. The sea of Jazer may mean the waters or 
the river of Jazer. So also No is said to have her ramparts upon 
the sea, i. e., the river, and her wall running out from the sea, that 
is, from the river Nile. (Nahum iii. 8.) The same expression is 
still, in Egypt, a familiar appellation of the Nile. 

In the prophecy against Amnion, Ai (Jer. xlix. 3 ; Comp. Ezek. 
xxv. 1 — 11) is some unknown town, not to be confounded with Ai 
north of Jerusalem. 

Bozrah in this place is the last inhabited town in the south of the 
Hauran. This is nearly on a parallel with the mountains of Gilboa, 
and sixty miles east of Jordan. 

It is now inhabited only by a few families of Fellahs ; but was 
once a walled town of great strength, and the capital of a Boman 
province of Arabia. The ruins are five or six miles in circumference, 
and consist of dilapidated walls, private dwellings, of which the roofs 
have fallen in, of two churches, a magnificent mosque, a temple still 
more splendid, a triumphal arch, and a Saracenic castle. 

There is also an immense cistern, almost entire, 190 feet long, 
153 feet wide, and 20 feet deep. "I have sworn by myself, saith 
the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, 
and a curse ; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes/' 
of which mention is made in the parallel passage of Ezek. xxv. 9. 

Kedar and Hazor (xlix. 28 — 34) are, in this connection, not cities, 
but wandering tribes of the Arabian desert, between Moab and Am- 
nion, and the Euphrates. 

Babylon. 

The prophecy of Jeremiah closes with a prediction of the destruc- 
tion of Babylon, which nothing in the whole range of profane 
literature can equal for sublimity and beauty. (Jer. 1. ; li. 1 — 58.) 
Babylon stood on a perfect plain, and was an exact square of not 
less than fifty miles in circumference. The Euphrates ran through 
the midst of it. The walls were more than 87 feet thick, and 300 
feet high ; they were surrounded by a deep ditch, and pierced by 
100 gates, all of solid brass. These streets, intersecting at right 
angles, divided the city into 676 equal squares. The parts of the 
city were united by a bridge over the Euphrates. 

The most wondrous structures were the temple of Belus and the 



E Z E K I E L . 263 

palace of Nebuchadnezzar. The outer walls of the latter embraced 
six miles. The ruins of Babylon are very extensive, grand, gloomy, 
and desolate beyond description. 

Who at this time, when Jeremiah and other prophets wrote, 
would have predicted the fall of Babylon the Great, the glory of 
kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, the queen of na- 
tions ? But its destruction is complete and entire. It has become 
" heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment and a hissing." 
It has been " swept away with the besom of destruction." It was 
captured by Cyrus b. c. 539, in the forty-ninth year after the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, and the sixty-ninth of the captivity. 

EZEKIEL. 

Ezekiel was one of the exiles on the river Chebar. His prophetic 
office was exercised from the fifth to the twenty-seventh year of the 
captivity. This period falls entirely within that of Jeremiah, who 
began to prophecy thirty-four years before Ezekiel, and continued 
the office six or seven years after him. 

The prophecy of Ezekiel against Tyre (chap, xxvii.) has been 
already considered. Syene (chap. xxix. 10) occurs in his prophecy 
against Egypt. This town was the southern limit of Egypt, at the 
cataracts of the Nile. Here, according to Strabo, was a certain well, 
into which the sun shone perpedicularly once a year, at the winter 
solstice, proving that it was exactly under the tropic. The truth of 
the statement may, however, well be doubted. 

What is rendered the town of Syene is itself Migdol, in the north- 
east of Egypt, north of Suez ; and the meaning of the passage is — 
that God is against the whole land in its extreme length from north 
to south, from Migdol to Syene, even unto the border of Ethiopia. 
So in the next chapter, verse 6, the pride of her power shall come 
down, from Migdol to Syene. 

In the verse preceding, the remote provinces, from which Egypt 
drew recruits for her armies, Ethiopia, Lydia, and Libya, are included 
in her overthrow. 

Chub, another people included in the sentence, has given the 
learned much trouble. It has been supposed to be Libya, Mauri- 
tania, Nubia, a city on the Mareotis, and a port in Ethiopia. 
Havernich understands Chub to be the same as Kufa, a people of 
peculiar costume, who are often seen on Egyptian sculpture, and 
"who appear to have inhabited a part of Asia, considerably north of 
the latitude of Palestine." These, whoever they may have been, 
and their confederates, are included in the curse. 

Sin (verse 16) was Pelusium, on the eastern branch of the Nile, 
twenty miles from the sea. It was once a place of great importance, 
and strongly fortified, as the eastern frontier of Egypt, though situated 



264 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

in the midst of swamps and morasses. It was near this place that 
Pompey met his death by order of Ptolemy, whose protection he 
sought. 

Aven (verse 17) is On, Heliopolis. Pibesheth is Bubastis, near 
the commencement of the ancient canal from the Nile to the Red 
Sea, at Suez. There was a yearly festive pilgrimage to a temple in 
this city, the remains of which are scarcely identified amidst the ex- 
tensive and indiscriminate ruins of the place. 

Gog and Magog (xxxviii. 2) are generally understood to represent 
the vast hordes of Northern Asia, known to the ancients under the 
general name of Scythians. 

Daniel. 

This wonderful man and prophet was among the first captives to 
Babylon, and lived to a very great age, a courtier at that city until 
its capture ; and afterwards at Shushan, the winter residence of the 
kings of the Medes and Persians. The incidents of his book extend 
through a period of about seventy years. 

The land of Shinar, to which he was carried ("Daniel i. 2), was 
Babylonia, the country of Babylon. Babylonia is an extensive plain, 
unbroken by a single hill. This is the plain of Dura, on which 
Nebuchadnezzar set up his golden image. (Daniel iii. 2.) 

Shushan, the residence of Daniel under the Persian kings, was 
100 or 200 miles E.S.E. of Babylon, in latitude 31° 36' and east 
longitude 48° 26', by the river Ulai. It was a place of immense 
wealth, and adorned with all the appliances of oriental luxury and 
voluptuousness; palaces, courts, and parks of vast extent, all of 
which have sunk down to an indiscriminate and extensive range of 
ruins. One mound is a mile in circumference, and another nearly 
two. Under the latter is a small dome-like building, called the tomb 
of Daniel, where a solitary dervise resides, impressed with the pecu- 
liar sanctity of the place. 

" The site of this once noble metropolis of the ancient princes of 
Elam, is now a mere wilderness, given up to beasts of prey, no 
human being disputing their right, excepting the poor dervise who 
keeps watch over the tomb of the prophet. The friend to whom I 
am indebted for the outlines I subjoin, passed the night under the 
same protection, listening to the screams of hysenas, and the roaring 
of lions, wandering around its solitary walls. 

" The venerable recluse showed him several blocks of stone cu- 
riously sculptured, and of evident antiquity, two of which he sketched 
hastily, and allowing me to copy, also described them to me."* 

* Sir R. Ker Porter. 



EZRA — RETURN FROM CAPTIVITY. 265 



Ezra — Return of the First Caravan. 

This interesting portion of Jewish history is concisely and clearly 
stated by Jahn. It is an historical survey of the book of 
Ezra : — 

" Cyrus, in the first year of his reign (b. c. 536, seventy of the 
captivity, fifty-two after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple), 
proclaimed throughout his empire, by a herald and by a written order, 
that all the people of the God of Heaven, without exception, had 
liberty to return to Judea, and rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. 
This general permission, therefore, extended to the Israelites in As- 
syria, Halah, Gozan, and Media, as well as to the Jews at Chebar 
and Babylon. 

"As Cyrus announced in his edict that Jehovah the God of 
Heaven had given him all the kingdoms of the earth, and charged 
him to build a temple at Jerusalem, this proclamation was not merely 
a permission, but rather an invitation to all the Hebrews to return 
and rebuild the temple. He accordingly delivered to the returning 
exiles 5,400 sacred vessels of gold and silver, which Nebuchadnezzar 
had carried from Jerusalem to Babylon, prescribed the size of the 
temple, and directed that the expense of its erection should be de- 
frayed from the royal treasury ; all which particulars were verified 
by a written edict found fifteen years after in the archives at Ecba- 
tana. (Ezra i. ; vi. 2, 5.) 

" Thus were the mountains laid low and the valleys filled up for 
the return of the Hebrews to Palestine ; that is, all obstacles were 
removed, l^erubbabel, grandson of the King Jehoiachim, and Jeshua, 
a grandson of the high-priest Jozadak, and ten of the principal elders, 
prepared themselves for the journey. To these were joined 42,360 
people, whose servants amounted to 7,337, so that the whole number 
was nearly 50,000. (Ezra ii. 2, 64, 65; comp. Neh. vii. 71.) 

" Those who were to return assembled at an appointed place, ac- 
cording to the usual mode of collecting a caravan, and furnished 
themselves with provisions and other things necessary for the journey. 
Their camels, horses, and beasts of burden amounted to 8,136. Ze- 
rubbabel, the director of the caravan, received the sacred utensils 
which had been restored, and the donations towards the building of 
the temple made by those who remained behind. 

" Encumbered as they were with baggage and small children, they 
were obliged to travel slowly, and their journey took up four months. 
(Ezra vii. 9.) Accordingly, the caravan could not have arrived in 
Judea before the close of the first year of Cyrus. Thus the Jews 
returned precisely at the termination of the seventieth year of the 
23 



266 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

captivity, the fifty-second year after the destruction of the tem- 
ple."* 

Second Caravan. 

From various circumstances it appears very probable that both the 
Artaxerxes of Ezra, who is mentioned next after Darius Hystaspes, 
and the Ahasuerus of Esther, are names of Xerxes I. We can 
easily account for it that this king who in the seventh year of his 
reign had made Mordecai the Jew his prime minister, and Esther 
the Jewess his queen, should give to Ezra the Jew a commission con- 
ferring such full powers as we find that Ezra possessed. (Ezra vi., 
vii., viii. 31; Esther ii. ; Dan. ix. 1.) 

" The Hebrew colony in Judea seems never to have been in a very 
flourishing condition. The administration of justice was particularly 
defective, and neither civil nor religious institutions were firmly 
established. Accordingly, the king gave permission anew for all 
Hebrews to emigrate to Judea. This was, in fact, renewing the 
invitation to the Jews to return to their native land. The priest 
Ezra, a celebrated scribe, was appointed governor, with a commission 
to appoint judges, superior and inferior, to rectify abuses, to enforce 
the observance of the law, and to punish the refractory with fines, 
imprisonment, banishment, or death, according to the aggravation of 
their offences. 

" He had also permission to make a collection for the temple among 
the Hebrews who chose to remain in the land of their exile ; and the 
king and his counsellors not only contributed generously towards the 
same object, but the managers of the royal revenues west of the Eu- 
phrates were ordered to supply Ezra with all he should 'require, of 
silver to 100 talents, wheat to 100 cors, wine and oil to 100 baths of 
each, and salt without limitation, that the sacrifices might be legally 
and regularly offered, that the wrath of the God of Heaven should not 
be against the realm of the king and of his sons. 

" Also all who were employed in the services of the temple, even 
the common labourers (Nethinims), were exempted from tribute, and 
thus placed on an equality with the Medes and Persians. This was 
done to influence the priests and Levites to settle at Jerusalem, for 
as yet but very few of them had returned. (Ezra vii. ; viii. 15 — 20.) 
From the whole of the letter it is manifest that the Grod of the He- 
brews was held in high veneration at the Persian court ever after the 
time of Cyrus. 

" Although exemption from tribute was secured to the Levites who 

1 «r 

* Jahn, chap, vii., pp. 70, 71. 



NEHEMIAH. 267 

would emigrate to Judea, yet none of this tribe were found in the 
caravan which assembled in Babylonia, on the banks of the unknown 
river Ahava, and it was with difficulty that Ezra induced two fami- 
lies of priests to accompany him. 

" The caravan consisted of sixteen houses, which, including women 
and children, probably amounted to 6,000 persons. After a journey 
of three months and a half the new colony arrived at Jerusalem, 
deposited in the temple the donations they had received for it, and 
Ezra delivered his credentials to the royal officers of that district. 
(Ezra viii.)"* 

Book of Esther. 

This book belongs to this period of Jewish history. Ahasuerus 
was Xerxes, a vain, weak monarch, famous for his disastrous expe- 
dition -against Greece, and his voluptuousness and cruelty. 

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were contemporary with Ezra, 
and laboured to encourage the people to build the temple. Haggai 
began his prophecy on the first day of the sixth month, three months 
after the seventieth anniversary of the destruction of the temple; 
thus there was a second fulfilment of the prophecy of seventy years. 
Zechariah entered upon his prophetic office in September following, 
and the temple was completed February 16, B. c. 513. 

Nehemiah. 

In the year b. c. 444, Nehemiah, a Jewish cup-bearer in the 
palace at Shusham, received intelligence of the fate of his people in 
Judea, so unfavourable that it deeply affected his spirits. His de- 
pression led the king to inquire the cause of his grief, to which he 
replied, " Why should not my countenance be sad when the city, the 
place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof 
are consumed with fire Y* 

The result was that he received a royal commission to go as gov- 
ernor of Judea and fortify Jerusalem. This commission he fulfilled 
with incredible energy and despatch ; and, in the face of insult, dis- 
couragement, and opposition of every kind, carried up the wall of 
the city, and established its defences. He annulled the mixed mar- 
riages of the people, reformed abuses, restored the order of their 
religion and the regular administration of justice. After an efficient 
and successful administration he returned, at the end of twelve years, 
to the palace of Shushan, where he is supposed to have resided 

* Jahn, chap, vii., pp. 64, 55. 



268 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

twenty-four years. During this time the colony of Jerusalem fell 
again into such a disordered state that he was constrained to re- 
turn and effect a thorough reform, both in the religion and govern- 
ment of the state. It was during this deplorable condition of the 
people, about the time of the second reformation of Nehemiah, that 
the prophet Malachi arose, b. c. 418, the last of those inspired 
reprovers of the sins of men until the coming of John the Bap- 
tist, that forerunner of the Lord, of stern and awful sanctity, 
sent to prepare the way for his coming by the preaching of repent- 
ance. 

There is here a chasm of 400 years in the sacred history, 
until the coming of Christ and commencement of the Chris- 
tian era. 



CHAPTER XX. 



Palestine under the Dominion of the Romans, in the 
Time of our Saviour. 



Illustrating the New Testament 

Luke iii. L 

Palestine, during the period of the New Testament history, was 
under the dominion of the Romans. It was then divided into five 
provinces, viz. : — 

Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, on the west of the river Jordan. 

Perea, comprising the country beyond, or on the east of the 
Jordan. 

Idumea, which embraced the extreme southern part of the land 
and a small part of Arabia. 

Galilee, the most northern division, was divided into Upper, or 
Northern Galilee, and Lower, or Southern Galilee. The former 
was called " Galilee of the Nations," or Gentiles (Matt. iv. 15), 
partly from its vicinity to Syria and the cities of Tyre and Sidon, 
and partly from the mixed character of its inhabitants. Lower 
Galilee comprised the fruitful and densely populated plain of Esdra- 
elon, which is about fifty miles in length by twenty in breadth, 
stretching between the sea and the lake Tiberias. 

This province contained the original portions of Asher, Naphtali, 
Zebulun, and Issachar. — (Vide Kitto's Palestine, page 354.) It 
was more than any other province honoured by the presence of our 
Saviour. Here his miraculous birth was promised by the angel. 
(Luke i. 26, &c.) Hither Joseph and Mary returned with him 
when a child, out of Egypt. Here he lived with his reputed father, 
and Mary his mother, till he began to be about thirty years of age. 
(Matt. ii. 22; Luke ii. 39, 51.) Hither he returned after his bap- 
tism and temptation. (Luke iv. 14.) And here was his dwelling- 
place after he entered on his public ministry (Matt. iv. 13), whence 
he was called a Galilean — and lastly, here our Lord appeared on 
more occasions than one to his Apostles after his resurrection. (John 
xx. 1 — 14.) Most of his Apostles were of this country, whence 
they are styled by the angels " men of Galilee." (Acts i. 11.) 

Samaria, so called from the capital of the kingdom of Israel, 
included the country originally possessed by the tribes of Ephraim 
23* (269) 



270 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

and West Manasseh, and lay between Galilee on the north, and 
Judea on the south ; thus to reach Galilee from Judea, a traveller 
"must needs go through Samaria." (John iv. 3, 4.) 

The inhabitants comprised a mixed population, descended chiefly 
from Assyrian colonists, and such of the ten tribes as were suffered 
to remain. Between the Samaritans and the Jews there existed a 
deadly hatred (John iv. 9); the former refused to receive Christ, 
" because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem " (Luke 
ix. 53) ) and the Pharisees blasphemously reproached him, " Thou 
art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." (John viii. 48.) This hatred, 
which our Lord rebuked both by precept, parable, and example, 
originated from the erection of the temple on Mount Gerizim, where 
the Samaritans held that men ought to worship. (John iv. 20.) 

Judea comprehended the original possessions of the tribes of Ben- 
jamin, Judah, Simeon, and Dan; the whole territory was often 
denominated the South Country, because it lay southwards of Sa- 
maria. 

Judea was the scene of our Lord's birth, death, burial, and resur- 
rection, and was highly favoured by his preaching and miracles. It 
was here he was unjustly condemned by Pilate the Roman Governor, 
and laid down his life without the gates of Jerusalem as a sacrifice 
for the sins of his people. The rejection and crucifixion of Christ 
by the inhabitants of Judea, filled up the measure of their iniquity, 
and brought upon them the ruin of both their " place and nation." 
(John xi. 48.) 

Perea. — This name was used sometimes to denote the whole region 
beyond the Jordan, sometimes only a particular district of that region. 
In the former sense it comprised the districts of Trachonitis, Itursea, 
Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Batanea, and Perea Proper, as well as the 
greater part of Decapolis, a term signifying ten cities. These cities 
were not near each other, but were detached and scattered through- 
out an extensive region. 

Idumea, or Pdom, included a country on the south and south- 
east of Palestine. 

Such was Palestine in the days of our Lord — a land maintaining 
a large population — abounding in cities, and fruitful in resources. 
But " the glory of all lands " is now desolate and oppressed. The 
Romans came upon her, despoiled her, and laid her waste by famine 
and the sword. The land is now trodden only by the swarthy children 
of the desert, and the small remnant of the stock of Abraham groans 
beneath the iron yoke of the followers of Mahommed. 

Government of the Provinces. 

At the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Herod the Great ruled over 
all the land of Palestine, from Dan to Beersheba, together with the 
whole of Perea, east of Jordan. Two years after the coming of 



ROMAN POWER. 271 

Christ, Herod died, leaving the government of the country to differ- 
ent members of his family. 

To Archelaus, what was properly regarded as his kingdom, Idu- 
mea, Judea, and Samaria; to Herod Antipas his son, Galilee and 
Perea ; and to Philip, the northern part of Perea, and the country 
east of Jordan, and extending northward to the region of Damascus. 

The relative value of these territories may be estimated by the 
revenues derived from them. The territory of Archelaus yielded six 
hundred talents ; that of Antipas, two hundred ; and that of Philip, 
one hundred. 

Koman Power. 

About the time of Christ's first visit to Jerusalem, Archelaus was 
banished to Gaul, and his territory reduced to the form of a Roman 
province, governed by Roman procurators. This change threw into 
the rough hands of strangers those powers which he had previously 
exercised. 

The power of the Sanhedrim had been nearly destroyed by Herod 
the Great; the power of life and death was now taken away, and 
the Jews, though left in the enjoyment of their religion and their 
own forms of government to a considerable degree, felt severely the 
power of Roman bondage. 

Severe exactions were made upon them of tribute, which was paid 
directly to their masters, the Romans ; by whom also government 
was exercised and justice administered. 

The procurator resided at Ceesarea, and quartered his troops upon 
the town at his pleasure. A cohort was stationed at Jerusalem, in 
the tower of Antonia, so as to command the temple, and quell any 
popular tumult. 

Such was the nature of government at the time of the public 
ministry and death of our Lord. This government was adminis- 
tered by Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, a weak, cruel, and 
avaricious man, who, notwithstanding feis cruelty and his vices, bore 
ample testimony to the innocence of the accused whom the Jews 
brought before him for condemnation, and reluctantly gave his con- 
sent to the execution of that just man. Vainly seeking fi some 
sweet aspersion to wash away the stain " of that innocent blood on 
his soul, u He took water and washed his hands, saying, I am inno- 
cent of the blood of this just man : see ye to it." But if he con- 
sidered himself innocent of the crime, not so did an offended God. 
He noted it down in his book of remembrance, and it is remark- 
able that Pilate was soon after deposed at the instigation of the very 
people for whom he had sacrificed his conscience ; a just retribution 
for his iniquity. Nor did he suffer alone; when Pilate had en- 
deavoured to excuse himself from the guilt of shedding innocent 
blood, the people exclaimed, " His blood be on us, and on our chil- 



272 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

dren." And so it came to pass : their imprecation was accomplished 
in the destruction of Jerusalem, and still remains in force, in their 
scattered and desolate condition, as wanderers among all nations, 
despised, and void of power. 

Chronological Data. 

The public ministry of our Lord is generally supposed to have 
continued three years and a half. In perusing the memoirs of 
his life in the Evangelists, the reader will be directed to the sev- 
eral portions of the Evangelists, in the order observed by Dr. Rob- 
inson in his Harmony of the Gospels. 

The gospel of John appears to be supplemental to the other three, 
and to observe almost uniformly the chronological order of the 
events narrated. Mark, in this respect, compares very well with 
John, while Matthew and Luke, in their narrations, regard less 
the order of events. 

The date of these Gospels, according to our chronologists, is as 
follows : Matthew, A. d. 56 ; Luke, 58 ; Mark, 58-61 ; John 61. 
This last date is in accordance with early tradition. Others suppose 
that John wrote many years later in Patmos ) but at what time 
during a period of forty years, from A. d. 60 to 100, cannot be 
determined by internal or scriptural evidence. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

I. Events connected with the Birth and Childhood op 
our Lord. 

Time : About thirteen and a half years. 

1. Preface to Luke's Gospel. (Luke i. 1 — 4.) 

2. Angel appears to Zacharias at Jerusalem. (Luke i. 5—25.) 

Zacharias was one of the ordinary priests. These, when instituted 
by David, were divided into twenty-four classes. (1 Chron. xxiv. 
3 — 19; 2 Chron. viii. 14.) These classes served each one week, and 
were relieved every Sabbath. Their stated duty, in which Zacharias 
was at this time engaged, was to burn daily incense on the altar of 
incense, in the first or outer sanctuary. 

3. An angel appears to Mary at Nazareth. (Luke i. 26 — 38.) 
Nazareth, the residence of Joseph and Mary, where Jesus passed 

thirty years of his life, is about seventy miles north of Jerusalem, 
six or seven west-north-west of Mount Tabor, and fifteen from the 
Sea of Tiberias, a little south of the parallel of its southern extremity. 
It is just north of the plain of Esdraelon, at the head of a narrow 
valley which runs up from the plain. Here it lies ensconced in a 
lovely little dell or basin, and surrounded on all sides by hills, ac- 
cording to Schubert, eight hundred feet in height. 

It contains about three thousand inhabitants, the most of whom 
are nominal Christians. The hills rise high and steep above the 
town, and from the summit opens a most noble prospect of the sur- 
rounding country of hill and dale and mountain and plain, more 
lovely in prospect, and more rich in sacred associations, than any 
other section of the Holy Land. 

Dr. Wilson well sketches the surrounding scenery from this emi- 
nence : — 

" To the north-west of us, overlooking a part of the country con- 
siderably wooded, we had the bay of Akka and Haifa, with the clear 
blue expanse of the Mediterranean, or Great Sea of the Hebrews, 
spreading itself in the distance beyond. South of this, and striking 
to the south-east, we had the whole ridge of Carmel before us, which, 
though stripped of much of the glory of its olden forests, still presents 
striking memorials of that 'excellency' for which it was so distin- 
guished. 

" To the south and south-west of us, somewhat circular in its form, 

(273) 



274 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

is seen here, bounded by the picturesque mountains of Samaria, the 
( great plain/ the battle-field of the country both in ancient and 
modern times, and probably the real or typical site of the battle of 
Armageddon. 

" To the east and south-east of us, we had the little Hermon, 
which, though bald on its crown, has considerable vegetation on its 
shoulders ; Mount Tabor, standing apart in its own nobility, and like 
Nature's own pyramid, not commemorative of death, but instinct 
with life, and clothed with luxuriant verdure to its very summits ) 
and the deep valley of the Jordan and the Sea of Tiberias, with the 
equable hills and mountains of Bashan and Golan on its eastern side. 

" To the north, beyond the plain of El-Battauf, we had the hills 
and mountain's forming the continuation of the Lebanon; and to the 
north-east, those forming the termination of the Anti-Lebanon, with 
Jebel Esh-Sheikh, the true Hermon, the chief of all the mountains 
of the land, moistened with the copious dews which descend from his 
hoary locks. Many villages, including a considerable number men- 
tioned in Scripture, were distinctly visible. 

" Besides Jezreel, Jenin, Taanuk, Megiddo, and others, to which 
I have already alluded when passing over the great plain, we had 
before us — beginning with Safariyah, the Sepphoris of Jewish history, 
called also Dio-Caesarea, lying immediately beyond the rather bare 
hills of Nazareth, and turning to the right — Kana El-Jalil, or Cana 
" of Galilee, which was privileged to witness the beginning of our 
Lord's miracles ; Safed, the famous sanctuary of Babbinism, and 
supposed to be the l city set upon a hill/' immediately before the 
attention of our Saviour and his disciples during the delivery of the 
sermon on the mount ; Endor, the residence of the witch who is no- 
ticed in the history of Saul ; Nein, or Nain, where the widow resided 
whose son was raised to life by our Lord. The associations of the 
scene were numerous and hallowed, independently of those imme- 
diately connected with Nazareth below. 

" There is a good deal of soil on this hill of Nazareth ; and doubt- 
less it is to a considerable extent capable of culture. It is covered 
in many of its patches with a species of erica, called bilad, which is 
found on all the hills of the country. With this are mixed a good 
many herbaceous and flowering plants, among which we noticed some 
of great beauty. 

" We continued some two or three hours on the top of this hill, 
where we conducted Divine service, remembering the condescension 
and grace of that Saviour who must have often ascended it to survey 
the works of his Father, and to behold the land over which were 
scattered the lost sheep of the house of Israel, whom he sought to 
save." * 

* Dr. Wilson, vol. ii. 94, 95. 



CHILDHOOD OF OUR LORD. 275 

The sacred associations and solemn musings awakened by the scene 
before us are happily expressed by Dr. Robinson : — 

u Seating myself in the shade of the Wely, I remained for some 
hours upon this spot, lost in the contemplation of the wide prospect, 
and of the events connected with the scenes around. In the village 
below, the Saviour of the world had passed his childhood ; and al- 
though we have few particulars of his life during those early years, 
yet there are certain features of nature which meet our eyes now, 
just as they once met his. 

" He must often have visited the fountain near which we had 
pitched our tent; his feet must frequently have wandered over the 
adjacent hills ; and his eyes doubtless have gazed upon the splendid 
prospect from this very spot. Here the Prince of Peace looked down 
upon the great plain, where the din of battles so oft had rolled, and 
the garments of the warrior been dyed in blood ; and he looked out 
too upon that sea, over which the swift ships were to bear the tidings 
of his salvation to nations and to continents then unknown. How 
has the moral aspect of things been changed ! Battles and blood- 
shed have indeed not ceased to desolate this unhappy country, and 
gross darkness now covers the people ; but from this region a light 
went forth, which has enlightened the world and unveiled new 
climes ; and now the rays of that light begin to be reflected back 
from distant isles and continents, to illuminate anew the darkened 
land, where it first sprung up."* 

" It seemed to me, also, as I ascended the last hills which sepa- 
rated me from Nazareth, that I was going to contemplate, on the 
spot, the mysterious origin of that vast and fertile religion which, 
for these two thousand years, has made its road from the heights of 
the mountains of Galilee through the universe, and watered so many 
human generations with its pure and living waters ! There is its 
source ! there, in the hollow of the rocks on which I tread : this hill, 
the summit of which I am attaining, has borne on its sides the sal- 
vation, the life, the light, the hope of the world. 

" It was there, beneath that small portion of blue sky, at the bot- 
tom of that narrow and sombre valley, under the shade of that little 
hill whose old rocks seem yet split with the joyful trembling they 
felt in giving birth to and bearing the infant Word, or trembling 
with the pain they felt in burying that Word when crucified : it was 
there, lay that sacred and fateful spot which God had chosen from 
all eternity to launch upon the earth his truth, his justice, and his 
incarnate love, made manifest in an infant God. 

" As I made these reflections, my head bent, and my brain filled 
with a thousand thoughts still more weighty. I perceived at my 
feet, at the bottom of a valley hollowed out like a basin or a small 

* Researches, vol. iii. 190, 191. 



276 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

lake, the white and gracefully-grouped houses of Nazareth on the 
two sides and at the extremity of this basin. 

u God alone knows what passed at that moment in my heart ; but 
by a spontaneous, and as it were an involuntary movement, I found 
myself on my knees, at the feet of my horse, upon one of the blue 
and dusty paths of the precipice we were descending. I remained, I 
supposed, several minutes in silent contemplation, wherein all the 
thoughts of my life as a sceptic or a Christian, rushed upon my mind 
with such confusion, that it was impossible to class them; these 
words alone escaped my lips : And the Word was made flesh, and 
dwelt amongst us. I pronounced them with the sublime, profound, 
and grateful sentiment they are calculated to inspire : the place in- 
deed suggests them so naturally, that I was struck, on arriving in the 
evening at the sanctuary of the Latin church, to find them engraven 
in letters of gold, on the marble table of the subterranean altar in 
the house of Mary and Joseph-"* 

4. Mary visits Elizabeth. — Juttah. (Luke i. 39-56.) 

Judah (Luke i. 39) is supposed to be Juttah, a city of the moun- 
tains of Judah, five miles south of Hebron. 

This visit of Mary to Elizabeth, therefore, required her to make a 
journey of near a hundred miles, almost the whole length of the 
land, from north to south. 

5. Birth of John the Baptist. — Juttah. (Luke i. 57-80. 

6. An angel appears to Joseph. — Nazareth. (Matt. i. 18-25.) 

7. Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, five miles south of Jerusalem. (Luke ii. 

The present date of the Nativity, which was established in the 
sixth century, is generally admitted to be four or five years too late ; 
so that instead of living in the year 1853, of the Christian era, we 
are actually in the year 1857 or 1858. 

It is known that the death of Herod soon followed the birth of 
Christ. But Josephus has recorded an eclipse of the moon as oc- 
curring on the night of Herod's death. Now, astronomers have 
shown that no such eclipse could have occurred at the time, accord- 
ing to the present date of the Christian era, and that it must have 
been on the night between the 12th and 13th of March, four years 
before the time assigned to the Nativity. But the birth of Christ 
preceded the death of Herod, and must therefore have transpired at 
least four years before the date of the Christian era. Many other 
considerations enter into the discussion of this question, which are 
too recondite to be detailed in this place. 

8. An angel appears to the shepherds near Bethlehem. (Luke ii. 8-20.) 

9. The circumcision of Jesus, and his presentation in the temple. — Beth- 

lehem, Jerusalem. (Luke ii. 21-38.) 

10. The Magi. — Jerusalem, Bethlehem. (Matt. ii. 1-12.) 

* Vol. i. 194-197. 



CHILDHOOD OF OUR LORD. 277 

But who were these Magi ? Whence came they ? and what was 
the star by which they were guided ? They were Chaldean Magi, 
from the region of Babylon and the Euphrates. They were the 
learned men of their country, and sustained there, in some degree, 
the same relation as the chief priests and scribes among the Jews. 

The conviction had long been spread throughout the East as well 
as in Palestine, that, about the time of our era, a great and victorious 
prince, or Messiah, would appear among the Jews. His coming was 
supposed, from Numbers xxiv. 17, to have some connection with the 
appearance of a star. Some such phenomenon evidently excited the 
attention of these wise men, and influenced them to enter upon this 
long pilgrimage, in search of the expected king of the Jews. 

It is, perhaps, the common opinion that some supernatural or me- 
teoric appearance guided them, like the pillar of a cloud, to the 
Israelites. But the notion has been entertained that the star may 
have been none other than a remarkable conjunction of the planets 
Jupiter and Saturn. If this be true, it will relieve the passage of 
many difficulties ; and confirm, by another astronomical fact, the cor- 
rection of our chronology, which has already been mentioned. The 
explanation, as given below, has engaged the attention of many of 
the greatest minds, and is at least worthy of a special consideration. 

Professor Encke has shown, by calculation, that these planets came 
into conjunction May 29, b. c. 7, and were visible in the east before 
sunset. On October 1, they came a second time into conjunction; 
and December 5, again, the third time ; and in each instance so near 
as to appear to the unaided eye as united in one body. 

The third conjunction occurred precisely two years before the date 
assigned above to the Nativity. Herod, on learning from the Magi 
the date of the appearing star, ordered the children two years and 
under to be slain. This consideration also dates the Nativity back 
four years. 

It is not a little curious also, that "the Chinese astronomical 
tables inform us that a new star appeared at a time which would 
correspond with the fourth year before the birth of Christ, according 
to our usual mode of computation." 

Now, if the Magi, on the first conjunction, were induced to leave 
their country in search of the mysterious child, the expected king, 
they must have enjoyed the guidance of these stars.. On their arri- 
val at Jerusalem the stars were again united, so as to confirm their 
belief; and, by their position in the southern sky, directed them to 
Bethlehem, to which their attention must have been strongly turned 
by the same prophecies to which the chief priests and scribes referred 
in their reply to Herod. 

Daniel and Nehemiah had been many years courtiers in the palace 
at Shushan, where also a Hebrew maid had been queen; to say 
nothing of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Many Jews remained 
24 



278 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

in the land of their captivity. So that these learned Magi may well 
be supposed to have become acquainted with the writings of the 
prophets. 

11. The flight into Egypt. Herod's cruelty. The return. — Bethlehem, 

Nazareth. (Matt. ii. 13-23; Luke ii. 39, 40.) 

12. At twelve years of age Jesus goes to the Passover. — Jerusalem. 

(Luke ii. 41-52.) 

13. The Genealogies. (Matt. i. 1-17; Luke iii. 23-38.) 

II. Announcement and Introduction of our Lord's 
Public Ministry. 

Time : About one year. 

14. The ministry of John the Baptist. — The Desert of the Jordan. 

(Matt. iii. 1-12; Mark i. 1-8; Luke iii. 1-18.) 

Herod, Archelaus, and Antipas, each continued in the provinces 
which they had inherited from their father, Herod the Great. Abi- 
lene is a small province, above Damascus, on the eastern slope of 
Anti-Libanus. But little is known of Lysanias, who was tetrarch 
of this province. 

The wilderness where John the Baptist preached was the wild 
mountainous country between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea, and 
extending down the western shore of this sea. This wilderness was 
not entirely destitute of the means of subsistence. The food of the 
Baptist was such as this desert affords, locusts and wild honey from 
the rocks. Josephus informs us that he himself lived in the same 
manner for three years, with his teacher Banus, " and had no other 
food than what grew of its own accord." 

15. Baptism of Jesus. — The Jordan. (Matt. iii. 13-17; Mark i. 9-11; 

Luke iii. 21-23.) 

16. The temptation. — Desert of Judea. (Matt. iv. 1-11 ; Mark i. 12, 13 ; 

Luke iv. 1-13.) 

The desolate region east of Jerusalem, overlooking the valley of 
the Jordan, is assumed to be this wilderness, into which our Lord 
retired after his baptism. It is nearly the same as that in which 
John began his ministry, but perhaps a few miles further north. It 
is remarkable that the great events of his life were made by him 
occasions of special prayer. For such devotional purpose he seems 
to have withdrawn into these desert regions. 

The high mountain, which tradition assigns as the place of his 
temptation, is Quarantania, about three miles north of the road to 
Jericho. It is fifteen hundred or two thousand feet high, and " dis- 
tinguished for its sere and desolate aspect, even in this gloomy region 
of savage and dreary sights. Its highest summit is crowned with a 
chapel, still occasionally resorted to by the more devout pilgrims, 
while the eastern face, which overhangs the plain, and commands a 
noble view of the Arabian mountains, is much occupied with grottoes 
and cells, the favourite abodes of pious anchorites." 



PUBLIC MINISTRY OF OUR LORD. 279 

17. Preface to John's Gospel. (John i. 1-18.) 

18. Testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus. — Bethababa beyond 

Jordan. (John i. 19-34.) 

Bethabara is supposed by Liicke to be Beth-bara, on the Jordan, 
to which Gideon summoned the Israelites to take the waters before 
the Midianites. (Judges vii. 24.) Jerome relates that many believers 
in his day, desirous of baptism, resorted there, and were baptized in 
the living stream. 

19. Jesus gains disciples. — The Jobdan. Galilee? (John i. 35-51.) 

20. The marriage at Cana of Galilee. (John ii. 1-12.) 

Dr. Robinson supposes the third day to refer back to John i. 44. 
The two preceding days were sufficient for the journey to Cana, a 
distance, perhaps, of fifty miles. Cana of Galilee, as has been shown 
by Dr. Robinson, is not the Cana of most travellers, seen at the dis- 
tance, five miles north-east of Nazareth, but Kana el-Jelil, about 
seven miles north of Nazareth, also in full view from the heights 
above this place. Cana is now a ruined, neglected place, but little 
known.. " War, bloody, relentless war, has swept over the little 
Cana of Galilee ; fire and sword have laid waste and destroyed the 
peaceful village in which Christ met the rejoicing wedding-party." 

III. Our Lord's First Passover, and the subsequent 
Transactions until the Second. 

Time : One year. 

21. At the Passover Jesus drives the traders out of the temple. — Jeru- 

salem. (John ii. 13-25.) 

22. Our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus. — Jerusalem. (John iii. 1-21.) 

23. Jesus remains in Judea and baptizes. Further testimony of John 

the Baptist. (John iii. 22-3G.) 

24. Jesus departs into Galilee ofter John's imprisonment. (Matt. iv. 12 ; 

xiv. 3-5; Mark i. 14; vi. 17-20; Luke iv. 14; iii. 19, 20; John 
iv. 1-3.) 

The journey between Jerusalem and Galilee was usually made in 
three days ; for which there were three different routes. 

1. One from Nazareth, by way of Endor and Nain, to Scytho- 
polis or Beth-shean ; thence across the Jordan, and down the east 
side of the river, through Perea, to a point opposite Jericho, and 
thence to Jerusalem. 

2. Proceeding obliquely across the plain of Esdraelon, from Naza- 
reth to the coast below Mount Carmel, the traveller pursued his 
course along the coast by Caesarea, Antipatris, and Diospolis or Lydda, 
to Jerusalem. 

3. A more direct route was through the country to Shechem, and 
thence to Jerusalem. This middle route, which, in the present in- 
stance, our Lord pursued, was several miles shorter than either of 
the others. 

Jesus had already spent about eight months in Judea since the 

/ 



280 ' SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Passover, and was now returning, in November or December, to 
Galilee. 

25. Our Lord's discourse with the Samaritan woman. Many of the Sa- 

maritans believe on him. — Shechem or Neapolis. (Johniv. 4-42.) 

It was apparently about the middle of the second day's journey, 
and at the distance of thirty-five miles from Jerusalem, where our 
Lord held this interview with the woman of Samaria, at Jacob's 
Well. 

This was in the second year of John's public ministry, which 
may have continued a year and six months previous to his imprison- 
ment. Suppose Jesus to have been born October 1, and both John 
and Jesus to have entered on their public ministry at thirty years 
of age. The ministry of Jesus began six months before the first 
Passover; and eight months after this he is on his way to Galilee, 
in consequence of John's imprisonment; but John's ministry began 
some months before that of Jesus. It must, therefore, have con- 
tinued at least a year and a half. 

26. Jesus teaches publicly in Galilee. (John iv. 43-45; Matt. iv. 17; 

Mark i. 14, 15; Luke iv. 14, 15.) 

27. Jesus is again at Cana, where he heals the son of a nobleman lying 

ill at Capernaum. — Cana of Galilee. (John iv. 46-54.) 

Capernaum was on the north-west shore of Gennesaret, twenty 
miles north-east from Cana. The nobleman appears to have been 
some member of the family of the king. The fame of Jesus had 
reached the court of Herod, though Jesus had, at this time, wrought 
but one miracle in Galilee. 

28. Jesus at Nazareth: he is there rejected; and fixes his abode at 

Capernaum. (Luke iv. 16-31 ; Matt. iv. 13-16.) 

The hills south-west of Nazareth break off into a perpendicular 
precipice of forty or fifty feet ; and here, doubtless, is the brow of 
the hill to which his fellow citizens led him, that they might cast him 
down. Tradition assigns for this incident another place, which it is 
needless to describe. 

Capernaum becomes now the residence of Jesus. " Thou, Caper- 
naum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell ; 
for if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done 
in Sodom, it would have remained until this day." So completely 
has this prediction been fulfilled upon this doomed city, that the very 
site of it is unknown. 

North of Tiberias, and about midway along the coast, the hills 
retire in a kind of arch, and form a small triangular plain, four 
miles in length, and two in breadth at the widest part, of great 
beauty and fertility. This is the ancient land of Gennesaret (Mark 
vi. 53), in which Dr. Robinson supposes the lost city to have been 
located. 

This plain, Josephus describes as one of surpassing loveliness and 



PUBLIC MINISTRY OP OUR LORD. 281 

fertility, and modern travellers concur in attesting the truth of the 
representation. — See pp. 116, 117.) 

Just at the foot of the western hills is the fountain Capharnaum, 
of pure, limpid water, enclosed in a circular wall of mason-work, 
nearly a hundred feet in diameter. From the fountain flows a large 
stream, to fertilize the plain. Here, however, no traces of a town 
are found, but near another fountain, not far from the shore, there 
is a small heap of indiscriminate rubbish, which, it is supposed, may 
mark the site of Capernaum. 

Dr. Wilson dissents from the opinion of Dr. Robinson respecting 
the locality of Capernaum ) and, perhaps with greater probability, 
supposes it to have been at the head of the lake, about five miles 
west of the Jordan, where extensive ruins are found. 

29. The call of Simon Peter and Andrew, and of James and John, with 

the miraculous draught of fishes. — Near Capernaum. (Luke v. 
1-11; Matt. iv. 18-22; Mark i. 16-20.) 

30. Healing of a demoniac in the synagogue. — Capernaum. (Mark i. 

21-28; Lukeiv. 31-37.) 

31. The healing of Peter's wife's mother, and many others. — Capernaum. 

(Matt. viii. 14-17; Mark i. 29-34; Luke iv. 38-41.) 

32. Jesus with his disciples goes from Capernaum throughout Galilee. 

(Mark i. 35-39; Luke iv. 42-44; Matt. iv. 23-25.) 

From Matthew we learn that the fame of Jesus had already spread 
through the whole country, Syria, Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, Perea, 
and Decapolis. The last mentioned appears to have been not a dis- 
tinct country or territory, but a confederation of ten cities, south 
and south-east of the Sea of Galilee, chiefly inhabited by foreigners. 
Scythopolis was on the west side of Jordan ; the others, upon the 
east, among which were Gadara, Hippo, Pella, and Gerasa. They 
seem not to have been under the government of Herod, but sub- 
ject to a jurisdiction peculiar to themselves, like the free cities in 
the German states. They afforded, accordingly, a refuge from the 
persecution of Herod. 

33. The healing of a leper. — Galilee. (Matt. viii. 2-4 ; Mark i. 40-45 ; 

Luke v. 12-16.) 

34. The healing of a paralytic. — Capernaum. (Mark ii. 1-12 ; Luke v. 

17-26; Matt. ix. 2-8.) 

35. The call of Matthew. — Capernaum. (Matt. ix. 9; Mark ii. 13, 14; 

Luke v. 27, 28.) 

IV. — Our Lord's Second Passover, and the subsequent 
Transactions until the Third. 

Time : One year. 

36. The pool of Be.thesda ; the healing of the infirm man, and our Lord's 

subsequent discourse. — Jerusalem. (John v. 1-47.) 

37. The disciples pluck ears of grain on the Sabbath. — On the way to 

Galilee. (Matt. xii. 1-8; Mark ii. 23-28; Luke vi. 1-5.) 
24* 



282 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

38. The healing of the withered hand on the Sabbath. — Galilee. (Matt. 

xii. 9-14; Mark iii. 1-6; Luke vi. 6-11.) 

39. Jesus arrives at the Sea of Tiberias, and is followed by multitudes. 

— Lake of Galilee. (Matt, xii. 15-21; Mark iii. 7-12.) 

40. Jesus withdraws to the mountain and chooses the Twelve ; the mul- 

titudes follow him. — Near Capernaum. (Mark iii. 13-19; Luke 
vi. 12-19; Matt. x. 2-4.) 

41. The Sermon on the Mount. — Near Capernaum. (Matt. v. 1 ; viii. 1 ; 

Luke vi. 20-49.) 

42. The healing of the centurion's servant. — Capernaum. (Matt. viii. 

5-13 ; Luke vii. 1-10.) 

43. The raising of the widow's son. — Nain. (Luke vii. 11-17.) 

Nain, the scene of this touching incident, is now a small settle- 
ment at the foot of Little Hermon, about three miles south-by-west 
from Tabor, and in full view from the hills of Nazareth. From 
Capernaum the distance must be twenty or twenty-five miles. 

44. John the Baptist in prison sends disciples to Jesus. — Galilee : Ca- 

pernaum. (Matt. xi. 2-19 ; Luke vii. 18-35.) 

If, as is generally supposed, John was imprisoned in the castle of 
Machaerus, east of- the Dead Sea, his disciples must have made a 
journey of fifty miles to Jesus in Galilee. 

45. Reflections of Jesus on appealing to his mighty works. — Capernaum ? 

(Matt. xi. 20-30.) 

46. While sitting at meat with a Pharisee, Jesus is anointed by a woman 

who had been a sinner. — Capernaum ? (Luke vii. 36-50.) 

47. Jesus, with the Twelve, makes a second circuit in Galilee. (Luke 

viii. 1-3.) 

48. The healing of a demoniac. The Scribes and Pharisees blaspheme. 

-^Galilee. (Mark iii. 19-30 ; Matt. xii. 22-37 ; Luke xi. 14, 15, 
17-23.) 

49. The Scribes and Pharisees seek a sign. Our Lord's reflections. — 

Galilee. (Matt. xii. 38-45; Luke xi. 16, 24-36.) 

50. The true disciples of Christ his nearest relatives. — Galilee. (Matt. 

xii. 46-50 ; Mark iii. 31-35 ; Luke viii. 19-21.) 

51. At a Pharisee's table, Jesus denounces woes against the Pharisees 

and others. — Galilee. (Luke xi. 37-54.) 

52. Jesus discourses to his disciples and the multitude. — Galilee. (Luke 

xii. 1-59.) 

53. The slaughter of certain Galileans. Parable of the barren fig tree. — 

Galilee. (Luke xiii. 1-9.) 

54. Parable of the sower. — Lake of Galilee : near Capernaum ? (Matt. 

xiii. 1-23 ; Mark iv. 1-25 ; Luke viii. 4-18.) 

55. Parable of the tares. Other parables. — Near Capernaum ? (Matt. 

xiii. 24-53 ; Mark iv. 26-34.) 

56. Jesus directs to cross the lake. Incidents. The tempest stilled. — 

Lake of Galilee. (Matt. viii. 18-27 ; Mark iv. 35-41 ; Luke viii. 
22-25 ; ix. 57-62.) 

Sea of Galilee, or Tiberias. 

The Sea of Tiberias, the scene of so many incidents connected 
with our Lord's ministry, has already been mentioned in pp. 115, 
116, 117, 



SEA OF TIBERIAS. 283 

Tiberias is the only town on the lake. This city, renowned in 
history, and built by Herod, is now mostly in ruins, and inhabited 
by some two thousand Greek Christians and Jews. Dr. Olin 
describes it as the most wretched of all the towns he ever beheld. 

The scenery of the lake has not the stern and awful features of 
the Dead Sea, but is more rich in hallowed associations, and more 
attractive in the softened beauties of the landscape. The view of it 
from the western heights breaks upon the approaching traveller with 
singular power. 

" We were upon the brow of what must appear to the spectator 
at its base a lofty mountain, which bounds the deep basin of the 
Sea of Galilee, and forms the last step in the descent from the very 
elevated plain over which we had journeyed during the long day. 

" The sun had just set behind us in a blaze of red light, which 
filled the western sky for many degrees above the horizon, and was 
slightly reflected from the smooth, glassy surface of the beautiful 
lake, whose opposite shore was visible for many miles on the right and 
left, rising abruptly out of the water into an immense and continu- 
ous bulwark, several hundred feet in height, grand and massive, but 
softened by graceful undulations, and covered with a carpet of luxu- 
riant vegetation, from the summit quite down to the water's edge. 

" Beyond the lake stretched out a vast, and, to our eyes, a bound- 
less region, filled up with a countless number of beautiful rounded 
hills, all clad in verdure, which, at this moment, were invested with 
a peculiar richness of colouring. In the remote distance, though 
full in our view, the snowy top of Mount Hermon was still glittering 
and basking in the beams of the sun, while a chaste, cool drapery 
of white, fleecy clouds, hung around its base. 

" The green, graceful form of Mount Tabor rose behind us, while 
over the broad and well-cultivated plain, the numerous fields of wheat, 
now of a dark, luxuriant green, contrasted very strongly and strangely 
with intervening tracts of red, freshly-ploughed ground. Indepen- 
dent of sacred associations, this was altogether a scene of rare and 
unique beauty — nay, splendid magnificence/ ; * 

The picturesque beauties of this charming scenery frequently 
attracted the admiring gaze of this traveller as he reluctantly retired 
on his way to Safet : — 

" The sea is almost continually in sight, and the different eleva- 
tions and ever-shifting points of view from which it was seen, gave 
to this lovely expanse of water reposing in its deep bed, lustrous and 
glittering in the sunbeams like molten silver, an endless variety of 
interesting forms and aspects. 

" I thought some of these views the most exquisitely beautiful of 
any I had ever enjoyed of this deeply interesting region, but per- 

* Dr. Olin, vol. ii. 388, 389. 



284 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

haps it was because they were parting views of a region so honoured 
and hallowed by the presence and ministry of the adorable Saviour. 
My eye rested upon the ( Sea of G-alilee/ the l coast of Magdala/ 
and the i land of Gennesaret :' upon the site of Chorazin, Bethsaida, 
and Capernaum — ( the cities where most of his mighty works were 
done/ It l passed over to the other side/ and traced in various 
directions across the shining lake the probable track of l the little 
ships ' in which he l went about doing good/ and that along which 
he came to his disciples, < walking on the sea/ and where c He rebuked 
the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm/ Surely no 
region on earth but Jerusalem and its environs alone is richer in 
affecting associations ; and I felt now as I did upon bidding adieu to 
the holy city — saddened and quite overpowered with the thought 
that I should commune with these endeared scenes no more."* 

57. The two demoniacs of Gadara. — S. E. coast of the Lake or Gali- 
lee. (Matt. viii. 28-34; ix. 1 ; Mark v. 1-21 ; Luke viii. 26-40.) 

The ruins of Gadara are recognized on a hill some five miles south 
of the lake, and nearly the same distance east of Jordan. The 
remains are extensive, but greatly decayed. Not a building is stand- 
ing ; and only the portals of the eastern gate remain entire. Some 
traces of the streets are discernible by the lines of rubbish, and two 
large theatres. 

The acclivities of the hill on every side are very steep ; and are 
occupied by many tombs cut in the limestone rocks. Some of these 
tombs are large and highly wrought. These tombs are said to be 
still inhabited, as they were by outcast and frantic demoniacs in the 
time of our Saviour. 

" The accounts given of the habitation of the demoniac from 
whom the legion of devils was cast out, have struck us very forcibly, 
while we ourselves were wandering among rugged mountains, and 
surrounded by tombs still used as dwellings by individuals and whole 
families. 

" A finer subject for the masterly expression of the passions of 
madness in all their violence, contrasted with the serenity of virtue 
and benevolence in him who went about doing good, could hardly 
be chosen for the pencil of an artist. A faithful delineation of the 
wild and rugged majesty of the mountain scenery here on the one 
hand, contrasted with the still calm of the waters of the lake on the 
other, would give an additional charm to the picture." 

One of the ancient tombs, at the time of the visit of Mr. Buck- 
ingham, from whom the above extract is taken, was occupied as a 
carpenter's shop. A perfect sarcophagus remained within, which 
was used by the family as a provision chest. 

* Dr. Olin, vol. ii. 407, 408. 



BETHSAIDA. 285 

58. Levi's feast.— Capernaum. (Matt. ix. 10-17 ; Mark ii. 15-22 ; Luke 

v. 29-39.) 

59. The raising of Jairus's daughter. The woman "with a bloody flux. — 

Capernaum. (Matt. ix. 18-26; Mark v. 22-43 ; Luke viii. 41-56.) 

60. Two blind men healed, and a dumb spirit cast out. — Capernaum ? — 

(Matt. ix. 27-34.) 

61. Jesus again at Nazareth, and again rejected. (Matt. xiii. 54-58 ; 

Mark vi. 1-6.) 

62. A third circuit in Galilee. The Twelve instructed and sent forth. — 

Galilee. (Mat ix. 35-38; x. 1, 5-42; xi. 1; Mark vi. 6-13; 
Luke ix. 1-6.) 

63. Herod holds Jesus to be John the Baptist, whom he had just before 

beheaded. — Galilee ? Perea. (Matt. xiv. 1, 2, 6-12 ; Mark vi. 
14-16, 21-29 ; Luke ix. 7-9.) 

John had been imprisoned some time before the second Passover 
of our Lord's ministry : it was now near the third Passover : so 
that he had lain in prison more than a year, in the castle of Ma- 
chserus. Josephus relates the circumstances of John's imprison- 
ment and death, but only says that Machserus was on the confines 
of Perea and Arabia. 

64. The Twelve return, and Jesus retires with them across the lake. Five 

thousand are fed. — Capernaum. N. E. coast or the Lake or Gali- 
lee. (Mark vi. 30-44; Luke ix. 10-17; Matt. xiv. 13-21; John 
vi. 1-14.) 

Near the northern extremity of the lake there were two towns of 
the name of Bethsaida; one in the neighbourhood of Capernaum 
and Chorazin, on the west side of the lake ; the other, on the eastern 
shore. The former, the city of Andrew and Peter, involved in the 
doom of Chorazin and Capernaum, is irrecoverably lost; the latter, 
mentioned Luke ix. 19, near which Jesus fed the five thousand, was 
enlarged by Philip the tetrarch. The ruins of it are just beyond a 
small plain of surpassing fertility, at a distance of a little more than 
an hour beyond the Jordan where it enters into the lake. 

65. Jesus walks upon the water. — Like of Galilee. Gennesaret. 

(Matt. xiv. 22-36 ; Mark vi. 45-56 ; John vi. 15-21.) 

66. Our Lord's discourse to the multitude in the synagogue at Caper- 

naum. Many disciples turn back. Peter's profession of faith. — 
Capernaum. (John vi. 22-71 ; vii. 1.) 

V. From our Lord's Third Passover until his final De- 
parture FROM GrALILEE AT THE FESTIVAL OF TABERNACLES. 

Time : Six months. 

67. Our Lord justifies his disciples for eating with unwashen hands. 

Pharisaic traditions. — Capernaum. (Matt. xv. 1-20; Mark vii. 
1-23.) 
• 68. The daughter of a Syro-Phoenician woman is healed. — Region op 
Tyre and Zidon. (Matt. xv. 21-28; Mark vii. 24-30.) 

Zidon is the most ancient of all the cities of Phoenicia. (Gen. 
x. 19; xlix. 13; Comp. Horn. II. vi. 289; xxiii. 743.) It is 



286 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

about twenty miles north of Tyre, and, at present, larger and better 
built than its ancient rival. It stands upon a small promontory, 
and as seen from the north has quite an imposing appearance, as if 
standing in the sea. Its harbour is now poor, and its commerce 
small, but it still contains five or six thousand inhabitants. It has 
beautiful orchards and gardens ; and its environs are everywhere 
covered with a luxuriant vegetation. 

The celebrated plain of Phoenice begins at some distance below 
Tyre, and extends a few miles above Zidon. It is a narrow plain 
between the shore and the eastern hills, one or two miles in width. 

Sarepta (Luke iv. 26) is between Tyre and Zidon, on a high hill 
a little distance from the coast ; but the ancient town was probably 
by the sea-side. 

From Capernaum to Tyre is a journey of thirty-five or forty miles. 
The whole tour through the coasts of Tyre and Zidon would require 
a circuit perhaps of a hundred miles. These cities and the Deca- 
polis were without the jurisdiction of Herod — to escape from which, 
at this time, may have been the object of making this tour. 

69. A deaf and dumb man healed ; also many others. Four thousand 

are fed.— The Decapolis. (Matt. xv. 29-38; Mark vii. 31-37; 
viii. 1-9.) 

70. The Pharisees and Sadducees again require a sign. [See 49.] — 

Near Magdala. (Matt. xv. 39 ; xvi. 1-4 ; Mark viii. 10-12.) 

Magdaia, the native place of Mary Magdalene, was on the coast 
about four miles above Tiberias, and at the southern extremity of the 
fertile plain of Gennesaret. By Mark (viii. 10) it is called Dalma- 
nutha. Its modern name is Mejdal. Dr. Olin describes it as a 
miserable-looking village of thirty or forty huts : — 

" We stopped to make some inquiries of the pale, sickly-looking 
inhabitants, who resembled the people of Jericho in their aspect and 
bearing. This region has, in some respects, a striking resemblance 
to that near the mouth of the Jordan. The thorn of Jericho, which 
I have so fully described, reappears upon this plain. A few scatter- 
ing palm-trees adorn the dreary precincts of Tiberias, while the stag- 
nant atmosphere and oppressive heat prevailing in this deep valley, 
are probably the chief causes here, as well as at Jericho, of the sick- 
liness of the climate. 

" This poor village, however, possesses a special historical interest. 
The people of whom we inquired its name, called it Mejdal ; and it 
is evident from the name, as well as from its position here, that this 
is the Magdala of the New Testament, and the Migdal of the Old. 
(Josh. xix. 38; Matt. xv. 39.) At the northern extremity of this 
village is a large quadrangular edifice, now in a ruinous state. It 
may have been a khan."* 

* Dr. Olin, vol. ii. 403. 



BANIAS. 287 

71. At Magdala Jesus again takes ship and crosses over to the north-east 

corner of the coast. (Matt. xvi. 4-12 ; Mark viii. 13-21.) 

72. Here, at Bethsaida, he heals a blind man. (Mark viii. 22-26.) 

73. From thence he journeys north to the region of Caesarea Philippi. 

On their way, Peter again professes his faith in Christ. [See 66.] 
(Matt. xvi. 13-20 ; Mark viii. 27-30 ; Luke ix. 18-21.) 

The course to Caesarea Philippi is along the eastern bank of the 
Jordan, some ten miles, then up the east shore of the Lake Huleh 
(the Waters of Merom), five miles or more, and thence along the 
great marsh, ten or twelve miles further north. Caesarea Philippi 
is at the head of one of the principal branches of the Jordan. We 
cannot better introduce this place to the notice of the reader than in 
the graphic description of the Rev. Mr. Thompson. The modern 
name of the city is Banias, known as Paneas or Panias. 

" The city is securely embosomed among mountains, which stand 
around it on the north-west, north, east, and south. The platform, 
or terrace, upon which it is built, may be elevated about one hundred 
feet above the extensive plain of which we have already spoken. 
That part of the city which was within the ancient walls, lay directly 
south of the fountain. The stream formed a deep channel along the 
northern and western walls ; and a part of the water was formerly 
carried into the ditch, which protected the eastern wall, and fell into 
the deep ravine of the mountain torrent, Wady el-Kid, on the mar- 
gin of which the southern wall was constructed. 

"Thus the city was surrounded by water, and defended on all 
sides by natural ravines, except on the east, which was secured by a 
wide and deep fosse. The walls were very thick and solid, and were 
strengthened by eight castles or towers ; and before the introduction 
of artillery, Banias must have been almost impregnable. The shape 
of the city is an irregular quadrangle, longest from east to west, and 
widest at the eastern end. The whole area is small, not being much 
more than a mile in circumference. 

" The suburbs appear to have been far more extensive than the 
city itself. The plain towards the north-west, west, and south-west, 
is covered with columns, capitals, and foundations, bearing indubita- 
ble testimony to the ancient size and magnificence of Banias."* 

" Eusebius relates that the woman who was cured of an issue of 
blood was a native of this place. Her supposed house was still 
pointed out in the fourth century, when he visited the city." 

74. In this region our Lord foretells his own death and resurrection, and 

the trials of his followers. (Matt. xvi. 21-28 ; Mark viii. 31-38 ; 
ix. 1 ; Luke ix. 22-27.) 

75. Next follows the transfiguration of our Lord, and his subsequent dis- 

course with his disciples. (Matt. xvii. 1-13 ; Mark ix. 2-13 ; Luke 
ix. 28-36.) 

* Bib. Sacra, 1846, pp. 187, 188. 



288 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY, 

This u high mountain," it is supposed, was some lofty eminence 
of Mount Hermon, above Banias. 

76. The next day, on descending from the mount, Jesus heals a dumb 

demoniac. (Matt. xvii. 14-21; Mark ix. 14-29; Luke ix. 37-43.) 

77. Jesus now returns into Galilee, and again foretells his death, and 

resurrection. (Matt. xvii. 22, 23; Markix. 30-32 ; Luke ix. 43-45.) 

78. At Capernaum he miraculously provides tribute-money. (Matt. xvii. 

24-27.) 

79. Here the disciples contend who shall be greatest in the kingdom of 

heaven ; and are exhorted to humility, forbearance, and brotherly 
love. (Matt, xviii. 1-35 ; Mark ix. 33-50 ; Luke ix. 46-50.) 

80. The Seventy are instructed and sent out ; probably down the valley 

of the Jordan, and through the populous regions of the country 
beyond Jordan, where our Lord soon followed them, and preached. 
This was the conclusion of his public ministry, before going up to 
Jerusalem for the last time. (Luke x. 1-16.) 

81. Jesus now takes his final departure from Galilee, and goes up to 

Jerusalem. On his way he is inhospitably rejected by the Sama- 
ritans. (John vii. 2-10.) 

82. Heals ten lepers in the country of Samaria. (Luke xvii. 11-19.) 

VI. The Festival of the Tabernacles, and the subse- 
quent EVENTS UNTIL OUR LORD'S ARRIVAL AT BETHANY. 
SlX DAYS BEFORE THE FOURTH PASSOVER. 

Time : Six months, less six days. 

83. The feast of Tabernacles was held in October, six months after the 

Passover. Jesus had now been absent a year and a half from 
Jerusalem. On this occasion he probably teaches in Jerusalem. 
(John vii. 11-53.) 

84. Dismisses the woman taken in adultery. (John viii. 2-11.) 

85. Teaches and reproves the unbelieving Jews, and escapes out of their 

hands. (John viii. 12-59.) 

86. Soon after leaving the city occurred his conversation with a certain 

lawyer, in connexion with which he gave the parable of the good 
Samaritan. (Luke x. 25-37.) 

87. On his way he is entertained in Bethany, at the house of Martha and 

Mary. (Luke x. 38-42.) 

Bethany is now a poor village of about twenty families, on the 
south-eastern declivity of the Mount of Olives, in a little valley, and 
about two miles from Jerusalem. 

88. The disciples are again taught how to pray. (Luke xi. 1-13.) 

89. The Seventy return. — Jerusalem? (Luke x. 17-24.) 

90. A man born blind is healed on the Sabbath. Our Lord's subsequent 

discourses. — Jerusalem. (John ix. 1-41 ; x. 1-21.) 

91. In the month of December, Jesus again returns to Jerusalem to the 

feast of Dedication, where his instructions give offence to the Jews, 
and he again retires from the city to Bethabara beyond Jordan. 
(John x. 22-42.) 

92. After remaining here probably a few weeks, he is recalled to Bethany 

by the sickness of Lazarus. (John xi. 1-46.) 

93. From Bethany, in consequence of the designs of the Sanhedrim against 

him, our Lord withdraws to a city called Ephraim, near the wil- 
derness. (John xi. 47-54.) 



FEAST -OF THE TABERNACLES 280 

T\ r e are indebted to Dr. Robinson for the probable recovery of this 
place, which he identifies with the modern Taiyibeh, and the ancient 
Ephron and Ophrah of Benjamin. (Josh, xviii. 23 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 17 ; 
2 Chron. xiii. 19.) It is on a high hill, fifteen or twenty miles north 
of Jerusalem, and a short distance north of the rock Rimmon, to 
which the remnant of the slaughtered tribe of Benjamin fled for de- 
fence (Jndges xx. 47), and a little north-east of Bethel. 

On the highest point of the hill is an ancient tower, which affords 
a wide prospect of the wilderness along the valley of the Jordan, of 
the Dead Sea, and of the mountains beyond. 

The village is on the slope of a hill, and contains a population of 
about three hundred Christians of the Greek church. 

" Even to this day the hardy and industrious mountaineers have 
much intercourse with the valley, and till the rich fields and reap the 
harvests of Jericho. It was therefore quite natural and easy for our 
Lord from this point to cross the valley and the Jordan, and then 
turn his course towards Jericho and Jerusalem ; while at the same 
time he exercised his ministry among the cities and villages along 
the valley and in the eastern region. " — Townsend' s Harmony, p. 187. 

94. Our Lord is accordingly next ofrthe coast of Judea, by the further 

side of Jordan, where he heals an infirm woman on the Sabbath. 
(Matt. xix. 1, 2 ; Mark x. 1 ; Luke xiii. 10-21.) 

95. Passes through the villages teaching and journeying towards Jeru- 

salem. (Luke xiii. 22-35.) 

96. In his course he dines with a chief Pharisee on the Sabbath. (Luke 

xiv. 1-24.) 

97. Instructs the multitude what is required of true disciples. (Luke 

xiv. 25-35.) 

98. The parables of the Lost Sheep and of the Prodigal Son follow in this 

place. (Luke xv. 1-32.) 

99. Parable of the Unjust Steward. — Perea. (Luke xvi. 1-13.) 

100. The Pharisees reproved. Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. — 

Perea. (Luke xvi. 14-31.) 

101. Jesus inculcates forbearance, faith, humility. — Perea. (Luke xvii. 

1-10.) 
102 Christ's coming will be sudden. — Perea. (Luke xvii. 20-37.) 

103. The Importunate Widow. The Pharisee and Publican. — (Luke xviii. 

1-14.) 

104. Precepts respecting divorce. — Perea. (Matt. xix. 3-12 ; Mark x. 

2-12.) 

105. Little children received and blessed. — Perea. (Matt. xix. 13-15; 

Mark x. 13-16; Luke xviii. 15-17.) 
108. The rich young man. Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard. — 
Perea. (Matt. xix. 16-30 ; xx. 1-16 ; Mark x. 17-31 ; Luke 
xviii.- 18-30.) 

107. A third time Jesus now foretells his death and resurrection. — Perea. 
[See 74, 77.] Matt. xx. 17-19 ; Mark x. 32-34; Luke xviii. 31-34.) 

108. The ambitious request of James and John. — Perea. (Matt. xx. 

20-28 ; Mark x. 35-45 ) 

109. Our next notice of Jesus is at Jericho, whither he has gone on his 

last return to Jerusalem. Near Jericho he heals two blind men. 
(Matt. xx. 29-34; Mark x. 46-52; Luke xviii. 35-43; xix. 1.) 
25 



290 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

110. Is hospitably entertained by Zaccheus, on which occasion he delivers 

the parable of the Pounds. (Luke xix. 2-28.) 

111. From Jericho he passes to Bethany, on the first day of the week be- 

fore the Passover — the 10th day of the month Nisan, April. (John 
xi. 55-57 ; xii. 1, 9-11.) 

VII. Our Lord's Public Entry into Jerusalem, and the 

SUBSEQUENT TRANSACTIONS BEFORE THE FOURTH PASSOVER. 
Time : Four days. 

112. On the next day after his arrival at Bethany, Monday the 11th, he 

makes his public entry into Jerusalem, and returns at night to 
Bethany. (John xii. 12-19 ; Matt. xxi. 1-11, 14-17 ; Mark xi. 
1-11 ; Luke xix. 29-44.) 

113. Tuesday, the 12th, Jesus goes to Jerusalem. On his way seeks fruit 

in vain of the barren fig-tree. Cleanses the temple, and again re- 
turns to Bethany. (Matt. xxi. 12, 13, 18, 19 ; Mark xi. 12-19 ; 
Luke xix. 45-48; xxi. 37, 38.) 

114. Wednesday, 13th, Jesus again returns to Jerusalem. On the way 

the fig-tree is observed to be already withered. (Matt. xxi. 20-22 ; 
Markxi. 20-26.) 

115. In the city the chief priests and scribes question his authority. After 

this he utters the parable of the Two Sons. (Matt. xxi. 23-32 ; 
Mark xi. 27-33 ; Luke xx. 1-8.) 

116. Thefparable of the Wicked Husbandman. (Matt. xxi. 33-46; Mark 

xii. 1-12; Luke xx. 9-19.) 

117. The parable of the Marriage of the King's Son. (Matt. xxii. 1-14.) 

118. The Pharisees propose to him the insidious question respecting 

tribute. (Matt. xxii. 15-22 ; Mark xii. 13-17 ; Luke xx. 20-26.) 

119. The Sadducees also propose an insidious question respecting the 

resurrection. (Matt. xxii. 23-33; Mark xii. 18-27 ; Luke xx. 
27-40.) 

120. A lawyer questions him respecting the great commandment. (Matt. 

xxii. 34-40 ; Mark xii. 28-34.) 

121. Jesus questions the Pharisees respecting Christ. (Matt. xxii. 41-46 ; 

Mark xii. 35-37; Luke xx. 41-44.) 

122. Warns his disciples against the Scribes and Pharisees. (Mark xii. 

38, 39 ; Luke xx. 45, 46 ; Matt, xxiii. 1-12.) 

123. Pronounces woes against the Scribes and Pharisees, and utters his 

lamentation over Jerusalem. (Matt, xxiii. 13-39 ; Mark xii. 40 ; 
Luke xx. 47.) 

124. The widow's mite. (Mark xii. 41-44 ; Luke xxi. 1-4. ) 

125. Certain Greeks desire to see Jesus ; a voice from heaven proclaims 

him the Son of God. (John xii. 20-36.) 

126. Reflections of John upon the unbelief of the Jews, who introduces 

Jesus as speaking. (John xii. 37-50.) 

Our Lord now takes his final leave of the Temple, and at the same 
time foretells its future destruction. On the Mount of Olives, while 
on the way to Bethany, four of his disciples, expecting in the Mes- 
siah an exalted temporal prince, who should restore and extend the 
kingdom of the Jews, inquire of Jesus when these things should be ? 
and what the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world ? This 
inquiry leads him to speak at length of his coming, of the destruction 



our lord's passion. 291 

of Jerusalem, and of the final judgment. This discourse, we shall 
divide into the following sections and heads. Our Lord and his dis- 
ciples still remain on the Mount of Olives, having the whole city in 
full view before them. 

127. Destruction of the Temple, and persecution of the disciples. (Matt. 

xxiv. 3-14 ; Mark xiii. 1-13 ; Luke xxi. 5-19.) 

128. Sign of his coming to destroy Jerusalem and put an end to the Jew- 

ish state and dispensation. (Matt. xxiv. 15-42; Mark xiii. 14-37; 
Luke xxi. 20-36.) 

129. Final coming at the day of judgment. Duty of watchfulness. Para- 

bles of the Ten Virgins and of the Five Talents. (Matt. xxiv. 
43-51 ; xxv. 1-30.) 

130. Scenes of the judgment day. (Matt. xxv. 31-46.) 

131. When at supper at Bethany, on the evening of this eventful day, 

Judas, filled with sudden resentment at the rebuke of Jesus, goes 
out to concert with the chief priests to betray him. (Matt. xxvi. 
1-16 ; Mark xiv. 1-11 ; Luke xxiL 1-6 ; John xii. 2-8.) 

132. Thursday, 14th. While at Bethany, Jesus sends two of his disciples 

into the city to make preparations for the Passover. (Matt. xxvi. 
17-19 ; Mark xiv. 12-16 ; Luke xxii. 7-13.) 

VIII. The Fourth Passover; Our Lord's Passion, and the 
accompanying events until the end op the jewish 
Sabbath. 

Time : Two days. 

133. Thursday evening, Jesus returns to Jerusalem to keep the Passover 

with his disciples, when the disciples fall into an ambitious strife 
for pre-eminence. (Matt. xxvi. 20 ; Mark xiv. 17 ; Luke xxii. 
14-18, 24-30.) 

134. Jesus washes the disciples' feet. (John xiii. 1-20.) 

135. Jesus points out the traitor, and Judas withdraws. (Matt. xxvi. 

21-25 ; Mark xiv. 18-21 ; Luke xxii. 21-23 ; John xiii. 21-25.) 

136. Jesus foretells the fall of Peter, and the dispersion of the Twelve. 

(John xiii. 36-38; Matt. xxvi. 31-35; Mark xiv. 27-31; Luke 
xxii. 31-38.) 

137. Institutes the Lord's Supper at the close of the Passover. (Matt. 

xxvi. 26-29 ; Mark xiv. 22-25 ; Luke xxii. 19, 20 ; 1 Cor. xi. 
23-25. ) 

138. Comforts his disciples, and promises the Holy Spirit. (John xiv. 

1-31.) 

139. Declares himself the true vine, and assures his disciples that they 

shall be hated by the world. (John xv. 1-27.) 

140. Forewarns them of persecution, and promises again the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer in the name of Christ. (John xvi. 1-33.) 

141. Christ offers his final prayer with his disciples. (John xvii. 1-26.) 

142. After the supper, Jesus retires at a late hour of the night from the 

city towards the Mount of Olives, and beyond the brook Cedron, 
or Kidron, just at the foot of the mount; he enters into the garden 
of Gethsemane, where he sinks to earth in a mysterious agony. 
(Matt. xxvi. 30, 36-40 ; Mark xiv. 26, 32-42 ; Luke xxii. 39-46 ; 
John xviii. 1.) 



292 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

The scene of this agony is forcibly sketched by Lamartine : — 

" At the gate of St. Stephen [on the east side of the city] the path 
is turned out of its line by the terraces on which formerly stood the 
temple of Solomon, and where now stands the Mosque of Omar; and 
a broad steep bank descends suddenly to the left, towards the bridge 
w T hich crosses the Cedron, and leads to Gethsemane and the Garden 
of Olives. 

" A low wall of stones, without cement, surrounds this field, and 
eight olive-trees, standing at about twenty or thirty paces distance 
from each other, nearly cover it with their shade. These olive-trees 
are amongst the largest of their species I have ever seen : tradition 
makes their age mount to the era of the incarnate God, who is said 
to have chosen them to conceal His divine agonies. Their appearance 
might, if necessary, confirm the tradition which hallows them ; their 
immense roots, as the growth of ages has lifted up the earth and 
stones which covered them, and rising many feet above the surface 
of the soil, offer to the pilgrim natural benches upon which he may 
kneel, or sit down to collect the holy thoughts which descend from 
their silent heads. A trunk, knotted, channelled, hollowed, as with 
the deep wrinkles of age, rises like a large pillar over these groups of 
roots ; and, as if overwhelmed and bowed down by the weight of its 
days, it inclines to the right or left, leaving in a pendant position 
its large, interlaced, but once horizontal branches, which the axe has 
a hundred times shortened to restore their youth. 

"I admired the divine predestination of this spot for the most 
mournful scene of the Saviour's passion. It was a deep and narrow 
valley : enclosed on the north by dark and barren heights, w T hich 
contained the sepulchres of kings; shaded on the west by the heavy 
and gigantic walls of a city of iniquities ; covered at the east by the 
summit of the Mount of Olives, and crossed by a torrent which rolled 
its bitter and yellow waves over the broken rocks of the Valley of 
Jehosaphat. At some paces' distance a black and bare rock detaches 
itself like a promontory from the base of the mountain, and, sus- 
pended over Cedron and the valley, bears several old tombs of kings 
and patriarchs, formed in gigantic and singular architecture, and 
strikes like the bridge of death over the valley of lamentations. 

"At that period, no doubt, the sloping sides of the Mount of 
Olives, now nearly bare, were watered by brooks from the pools, and 
by the still running stream of Cedron. Gardens of pomegranates, 
oranges, and olives, covered with a thicker shade the Valley of Geth- 
semane, which delves like a sanctuary of grief into the narrowest and 
darkest depths of the Valley of Jehosaphat. The man despised and 
rejected, the man of sorrows, might here hide himself like a criminal 
amongst the roots of trees and the rocks of the torrent, under the 
triple shadow of the city, the mountain, and the night; he might 
hear from hence the secret steps of his mother and his disciples as 



CRUCIFIXION OF OUR LORD. 293 

they passed by, seeking her son and their master; the confused 
noise, the stupid acclamations of the city rising around him to rejoice 
in having vanquished truth and expelled justice; and the moans of 
Cedron rolling its waters under his feet, soon destined to behold its 
city overthrown, and its sources broken up in the ruin of a blind 
and guilty nation. Could Christ have chosen a more suitable spot 
for his tears? could he water with the sweat of his blood a soil more 
furrowed by miseries, more saturated by griefs, more impregnated 
with lamentations V * 

143. A tumultuous rabble, led by Judas the traitor, rush in to arrest 

Jesus, who calmly advances to meet them, and is betrayed with a 
kiss. (John xviii. 2-12 ; Matt. xxvi. 47-56 ; Mark xiv. 43-52 ; 
Luke xxii. 47-53.) 

144. Jesus is led immediately to the house of Caiaphas, who examines 

him while the Sanhedrim assemble. He is now in the inner court, 
or quadrangle, around which the house is built. There is a fire 
in the open court of the quadrangle, near which Peter is standing 
when he first denies his Lord. He retreats to the passage, or 
gateway, leading to the street, where he again denies his Lord ; 
and, an hour after, denies him the third time ; still within the 
court, and probably near the place of the first denial. (Matt. 
xxvi. 57, 58, 69-75 ; Mark xiv. 53, 54, 66-72 ; Luke xxii. 54-62 ; 
John xviii. 13-18, 25-27.) 

145. Previous to the last denial of Peter, the Sanhedrim have assembled, 

while it is yet night, on the morning of Friday the 15th, and the 
trial proceeds ; during which our Lord declares himself the Christ, 
and is condemned and mocked. (John xviii. 19-24; Luke xxii. 
63-71; Matt. xxvi. 59-68; Mark xiv. 55-65.) 

146. The Sanhedrim lead Jesus away to Pilate. Morning of Friday. 
* (Matt, xxvii. 1, 2, 11-14; Mark xv. 1-5; Luke xxiii. 1-5; John 

xviii. 28-38.) 

147. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. (Luke xxiii. 6-12.) 

148. Pilate seeks to release Jesus. The Jews demand Barabbas. (Luke 

xxiii. 13-25; Matt, xxvii. 15-26; Mark xv. 6-15; John xviii. 
39, 40.) 

149. Pilate delivers up Jesus to death, who is scourged and mocked. 

(Matt, xxvii. 26-30; Mark xv. 15-19; John xix. 1-3.) 

150. He again seeks to release Jesus. (John xix. 4-16.) 

151. As soon as Judas sees that his Master is delivered to death, he is 

seized with remorse, and hangs himself. He had hoped, perhaps, 
to enjoy the reward of his treachery without incurring the guilt 
of his Master's blood. (Matt, xxvii. 3-10.) 

152. Jesus is led away, about nine o'clock in the morning, to be crucified. 

On his way to Calvary, Jesus bears the cross to which he is to be 
nailed ; but, exhausted by the sufferings to which he has been 
subjected, he sinks beneath the burden, and a stranger from 
Cyrene, a city on the coast of Africa, opposite Crete, is compelled 
to bear the cross. (Matt, xxvii. 31-34 ; Mark xv. 20-23 ; John 
xix. 16, 17; Luke xxiii. 26-33.) 

153. The Crucifixion; from nine o'clock a.m. to three p.m. (Matt, xxvii. 

35-38; Mark xv. 24-28; Luke xxiii. 33, 34, 38; John xix. 18-34.) 



* Lamartine, vol. 1. 263-265. 

25* 



294 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Calvary, the place of crucifixion, will probably never be identified. 
All the research which has been employed on this locality, has done 
little else than substitute some plausible conjecture for the uncertain 
traditions of the church. 

154. Jesus on the cross is mocked by the Jews. He commends his mother 

to John. (Matt, xxvii. 39-44; Mark xv. 29-32.) 

155. Darkness prevails over the land from twelve o'clock to three p.m., 

when our Saviour expires. (Matt, xxvii. 45-50; Mark xv. 33-37; 
Luke xxiii. 44-46 ; John xix. 28-30.) 

156. At this great event the vail of the temple is rent, the earth quakes, 

many graves are opened, and the Roman centurion, in attendance 
to witness these scenes, exclaims, " Truly this was the Son of 
God." (Matt, xxvii. 51-56; Mark xv. 38-41; Luke xxiii. 45, 
47-49.) 

157. It was a custom of the Jews that the bodies of such as were pub- 

licly executed should be taken down before sunset. The body of 
Jesus is accordingly delivered by request to Joseph of Arimathea, 
who takes care to have it embalmed and laid in a new sepulchre 
near by. Mary Magdalene, and other women, who had stood by 
the cross during the sufferings of their Lord, are also attendants 
at his burial. (John xix. 31-42 ; Matt, xxvii. 57-61 ; Mark xv. 
42-47; Luke xxiii. 50-56.) 

Arimathea has generally been supposed to be the modern town of 
Ramleh, near Lydda. This supposition is refuted by Dr. Robinson, 
but defended by Von Raumer. 

158. The next day, Saturday, 16th, the Sabbath of the Jews, a watch is 

set, and other precautions taken, to prevent imposition. (Matt, 
xxvii. 62-66.) 

IX. Our Lord's Resurrection, his subsequent Appearances, 

and his Ascension. 

Time : Forty days. 

This difficult portion of the gospel history has been carefully har- 
monized by Dr. Robinson. The order of events will be best pre- 
sented in his own words : — 

u The resurrection took place at or before early dawn on the first 
day of the week : when there was an earthquake, and an angel 
descended and rolled away the stone from the sepulchre and sat upon 
it ; so that the keepers became as dead men from terror. At early 
dawn, the same morning, the women who had attended on Jesus, 
viz., Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, 
and others, went out with spices to the sepulchre in order further to 
embalm the Lord's body. They inquire among themselves, who 
should remove for them the stone which closed the sepulchre. On 
their arrival they find the stone already rolled away ? The Lord had 
risen. The women, knowing nothing of all that had taken place, 
were amazed; they enter the tomb, and find not the body of the 
Lord, and are greatly perplexed. At this time, Mary Magdalene, 



RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD. 295 

impressed with the idea that the body had been stolen away, leaves 
the sepulchre and the other women, and runs to the city to tell Peter 
and John. 

" The other women remain still in the tomb ; and immediately 
two angels appear, who announce unto them that Jesus is risen from 
the dead, and give them a charge in his name for the Apostles. 
They go out quickly from the sepulchre, and proceed in haste to the 
city to make this known to the disciples. On the way Jesus meets 
them, permits them to embrace his feet, and renews the same charge 
to the Apostles. The women relate these things to the disciples; 
but their words seem to them as idle tales, and they believe them 
not. 

" Meantime Peter and John had run to the sepulchre, and enter- 
ing in had found it empty. But the orderly arrangement of the 
grave-clothes, and of the napkin, convinced John that the body had 
not been removed either by violence or by friends ; and the germ of 
a belief sprung up in his mind that the Lord had risen. The two 
returned to the city. Mary Magdalene, who had again followed 
them to the sepulchre, remained standing and weeping before it; and 
looking* in she saw two angels sitting. Turning round she sees 
Jesus ; who gives to her also a solemn charge for his disciples. 

" The further sequence of events, consisting chiefly of our Lord's 
appearances, presents comparatively few difficulties. The various 
manifestations which the Saviour made of himself to his disciples 
and others, as recorded by the Evangelists and Paul, may accordingly 
be arranged and enumerated as follows : — 

1. To the women returning from the sepulchre. Reported only 

by Matthew. See 162. 

2. To Mary Magdalene, at the sepulchre. By John and 

Mark. 164. 

3. To Peter, perhaps early in the afternoon. By Luke and 

Paul. 166. 

4. To the two disciples going to Emmaus, towards evening. By 

Luke and Mark. 166. 

5. To the Apostles (except Thomas), assembled at evening. By 

Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. 167. 
N.B. These five appearances all took place at or near Jerusalem, 
upon the first day of the week, the same day on which the 
Lord arose. 

6. To the Apostles, Thomas being present, eight days afterwards 

at Jerusalem. Only by John. 168. 

7. To seven of the Apostles on the shore of the Lake of Tibe- 

rias. Only by John. 169. 

8. To the eleven Apostles and to five hundred other Brethren, on 

a mountain in Galilee. By Matthew and Paul. 170. 

9. To James, probably at Jerusalem. Only by Paul. 171. 



296 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

10. To the eleven at Jerusalem, immediately before the ascension. 

By Luke, in Acts, and by Paul. 171. 
Then follows the ascension. 172.* 

159. The resurrection, on the first day of the week, the Christian Sab- 

bath, 17th. (Mark xvi. 1 ; Matt, xxviii. 2-4.) 

160. Visit of the women to the sepulchre. Mary Magdalene returns. 

(Matt, xxviii. 1 ; Mark xvi. 2-4; Luke xxiv. 1-3 ; John xx. 1, 2.) 

161. Vision of the angels in the sepulchre. (Mark. xvi. 5-7 ; Luke xxiv. 

4-8 ; Matt, xxviii. 5-7. 

162. The women return to the city. Jesus meets them. (Matt, xxviii. 
8-10; Mark xvi. 8; Luke xxiv. 9-11.) 

163. Peter and John run to the sepulchre. (John xx. 3-10; Luke 

xxiv. 12.) 

164. Our Lord is seen by Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre. (John xx. 

11-18; Mark xvi. 9-11.) 

165. Report of the watch. (Matt, xxviii. 11-15.) 

166. Our Lord is seen of Peter. Then by two disciples on the way to 

Emmaus. (1 Cor. xv. 5; Luke xxiv. 13-35 ; Mark xvi. 12, 13.) 

The position of Emmaus was early lost, and has never been re- 
covered. We only know that it was seven or eight miles from Jeru- 
salem. 

167. On the evening of the Christian Sabbath, Jesus, while at supper 

in Jerusalem, presents himself to the disciples, with the excep- 
tion of Thomas. (Mark xvL 14-18 ; Luke xxiv. 36-49 ; John xx. 
19-23.) 

168. One week from this time Jesus again presents himself to the Apos- 

tles in Jerusalem, while Thomas also is present. (John xx. 24-29.) 

169. The Apostles now return to Galilee, where Jesus had before assured 

them that he would meet them after his resurrection. (Matt. xxvi. 
32; Mark xiv. 29.) Here he first discovers himself to seven of 
them at the Sea of Tiberias. (Matt, xxviii. 16; John xxi. 1-24.) 

170. Jesus meets the Apostles and about five hundred brethren on a 

mountain in Galilee. (Matt, xxviii. 16-20 ; 1 Cor. xv. 6.) 

The final interview of our Lord with his disciples at the appointed 
place, a mountain in Galilee, to us unknown, is appropriately intro- 
duced to our notice by the following remarks of the author of the 
Harmony : — 

"The set time had now come; and the eleven disciples went away 
into the mountain, ' where Jesus had appointed them/ It would 
seem probable, that this time and place had been appointed by our 
Lord for a solemn and more public interview, not only with the eleven 
whom he had already met more than once, but with all his disciples 
in Galilee ; and that therefore it was on this same occasion, when, 
according to St. Paul, ' he was seen of above five hundred brethren 
at once/ 

" I, therefore, with many leading commentators, do not hesitate to 
regard the interviews thus described by Matthew (xxviii. 16-20) 

* Townsend's Harmony, pp. 210, 211. 



ASCENSION OF OUR LORD. 297 

and St. Paul (1 Cor. xv. 5 — 8) as identical. It was a great and 
solemn occasion. Our Lord had directed, that the eleven and all 
his disciples in Galilee should thus be convened upon the mountain. 
It was the closing scene of his ministry in Galilee. Here his life 
had been spent. Here most of his mighty works had been done and 
his discourses delivered. Here his followers were as yet most nume- 
rous. He therefore here takes leave on earth of those among whom 
he had lived and laboured longest ; and repeats to ail his disciples 
in public the solemn charge, which he had already given in private 
to the Apostles : c Go ye therefore and teach all nations ; — and lo, I 
am with you always, even unto the end of the world/ It was doubt- 
less the Lord's last interview with his disciples in that region ; his 
last great act in Galilee."* 

171. After this public interview with his disciples and followers, Jesus 

again appears to James at Jerusalem, and then to all the Apos- 
tles. The language seems indeed to imply that there were repeated 
interviews and communications of which we have no specific 
record. (1 Cor. xv. 7; Acts i. 3-8.) 

172. Ascension of Christ. (Luke xxiv. 50-53 ; Mark xvi. 19, 20 ; Acts 

i. 9-12.) 

In connection with this discourse, or soon after it, our Lord, with 
the Apostles, goes out to Bethany, on the eastern slope of the Mount 
of Olives, where he lifts up his hands and blesses them ; and, while 
he blesses them, he is parted from them, and carried up into heaven, 
a cloud receiving him out of their sight. 

Amazing scene ! His humiliation ended, finished now the work 
that was given him to do, he returns, triumphant over death and the 
grave, to his throne on high. Myriads of attending angels an- 
nounce, at the gates of heaven, the approach of the returning Con- 
queror, their Lord and King. " Lift up your heads, oh ye gates ; 
and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory 
shall come in." And myriads more of the heavenly hosts in celes- 
tial harmony hail his coming. " Who is this King of Glory ? the 
Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle. The Lord of 
Hosts, he is the King of Glory !" 

Who can conceive the emotions of the Apostles as they gaze in 
mute astonishment at this amazing scene ! In vain they look stead- 
fastly up towards heaven. The heaven of heavens has received 
their Lord and Master unto the right hand of God. But two of the 
heavenly host appear, saying : " Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye 
gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is taken up from 
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
go into heaven." "And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 
and were continually in the Temple, praising and blessing God. 
Amen ! >; 

* Townsend's Harmony, pp. 214, 215. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Asia Minor, Gr^cia, Epirus, Macedonia, Thracia, 
Illyricum, Italia. 

I. Asia Minor is a peninsula bounded on the north by the Pontus 
Euxinus ; on the north-west by the Thracian Bosphorus, the Pro- 
pontis, and the Hellespont; on the west by the jEgean Sea ; on 
the south by the Mediterranean; on the south-east by Syria, from 
which it is separated by the range of Mount Amanus ; and on the 
east by Armenia, from which it is separated by the rivers Euphra- 
tes and Acampsis. 

II. The interior of this peninsula forms a westerly continuation 
of the Armenian highlands, separated from the coast on the north 
by the range of Mount Taurus, and on the south by that of Anti- 
Taurus, and broken toward the west into chains of lower moun- 
tains, such as Tmolus, Sipylus, Ida, and Olympus. The highest 
point is Mount Argseus, now Arjish Dagh, on the Upper Halys, 
the point from which the rivers run in different directions into the 
Euxine and Mediterranean Seas and the Euphrates. 

III. Asia Minor contained twelve provinces, namely, three on the 
southern coast, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia ; three on the western 
coast, Caria, Lydia, Mysia ; three on the northern coast, Bithynia, 
Paphlagonia, Pontus; and three in the interior, Phrygia, Pisidia, 
and Cappadocia. Under Phrygia was comprehended Galatia ; 
and under Cappadocia, Lyeaonia and Isauria. This order will be 
observed in describing them, and we will then give an account of 
the islands along the southern and western coasts. 

IV. The name Asia Minor was not employed by the Roman writ- 
ers in the classical period. It occurs first in Orosius, who flourished 
about the beginning of the fifth century of our era. The Greeks 
and Romans had no special designation before this time for the 
Asiatic peninsula, for the name Asia cis Taurum only referred to 
the western half, as did also Pliny's Asia Propria. The Roman 
province of Asia, or Asia Proconsulates, comprised Mysia, Lydia, 
Caria, and Phrygia, with the exception of Lyeaonia. 

Gr^ecia. 

I. This country was called Grsecia by the Romans, whence the 
name has descended to us. The Grseci, however, were only one of 
the ancient tribe of Epirus, according to Aristotle, and never be- 

(298) 



epirus. 299 

came of any historical importance, though their name must at some 
period have been extensively spread on the western coast, since the 
inhabitants of Italy appear to have known the country first under 
this name. 

II. In the Greek authors, the country we are now considering is 
called Hellas ('EM.a$) ; though it must be remarked that the name 
Hellas had a more extensive signification than we attach to it, and 
was used in general to denote the country of the Hellenes, wherever 
they might happen to be settled ; and in this way the Grecian colo- 
nies in Asia Minor, in Africa, in Italy, and in Sicily, formed as 
essential parts of Hellas as Attica, Arcadia, or Boeotia. 

III. Greece, in the sense in which we here consider it, excluding, 
namely, Macedonia and Epirus, as non-Helenic states, was bounded 
on the north by Macedonia ; on the north-west by Epirus; on the 
west by the Ionium Mare, or Ionian Sea ; on the east by the 
jEgseum Mare, or JEgaean Sea; and on the south by the Mare 
Mediterraneum, or Mediterranean, of which the two other seas are 
merely parts. 

IV. The main divisions of Greece were two in number, namely, 
Grsecia Propria and Peloponnesus. By Grsecia Propria, called, 
otherwise Middle Greece, and also Northern Greece, was meant all 
the country lying without the Isthmus of Corinth; and by the 
Peloponnesus, otherwise called Southern Greece, was meant all the 
country lying within, or on the lower side of the same isthmus, and 
forming one large peninsula. 

V. Grsecia Propria was subdivided into the following countries : 
1. Thessalia. 2. Acarndnia. 3. JEtolia. 4. Locris. 5. Doris. 
6, Phocis. 7. Bseotia. 8. Megdris. 9. Attica. 

VI. Peloponnesus was subdivided into the following : 1. Cor- 
inthia. 2. Sicyonia. 3. Achaia. 4. JElis. 5. Arcadia. 6. Ar- 
golis. 7. Messenia. 8. Laconia. 

Epirus. 

I. Epirus (rJ7teip'oi), or " mainland," was a name given at a very 
early period to that north-western portion of Greece which is situate 
between the chain of Pindus and the Ionian Gulf, and between the 
Ceraunian mountains and the river Achelous. 

II. This name was given to the country in question to distinguish 
it, probably, from the large, populous, and wealthy island of Cor- 
cyra, which lay opposite to the coast. As it appears, however, that 
in very ancient times Acarnania was also included in the term, the 
name in that case, might have been used in opposition to all the 
islands lying along the coast. 

III. Epirus, in the latter sense of the name, was bounded on the 
east by Thessaly, from which it was separated by the range of Mount 



300 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Pindus; on the west by the Ionian Sea ; on the north by Illyri- 
cum and Macedonia; and on the south by Acamania. 

Macedonia. 

I. Macedonia Proper was bounded on the north by Msesia, from 
which it was separated by the ranges Orbelus and Scomius ; on the 
east by Thrace, from which it was separated, down to the time of 
Philip and Alexander, by the river Strymon, and from this period 
by the Nestus ; on the west by Illyricum and Epirus, from which 
it was separated by the chains of Scardus and Pindus ; and on the 
south by Thessaly, from which it was separated by the Cambunian 
mountains. 

II. In the time of Herodotus, the name of Macedonia compre- 
hended only the country to the south and west of the Lydias. How 
far inland he conceived that it extended does not appear from his 
narrative. 

III. The boundaries of what was afterwards the Roman province 
of Macedonia are very difficult to determine. According to the epi- 
tomizer of Strabo, it was bounded by the Hadriatic on the west, by 
the mountain ranges of Scardus, Orbelus, Rhodope, and Heemus on 
the north, by the Via Egnatia on the south, while on the east it 
extended as far as Cypsela and the mouth of the Hebrus. 

IV. But this statement, with respect to the southern boundary of 
the province of Macedonia, cannot be correct, since we know that 
this province was bounded on the south by that of Achaia, and it 
does not appear that the province of Achaia extended farther north 
than the south of Thessaly. 

V. Macedonia now forms part of Turkey in Europe, under the 
name of Makedonia, or Filiba Vilajeti. 

Thracia. 

I. Thracia (®p4*y) was in ancient times the name of the country 
bounded on the north by the chain of Mount Heemus, on the south 
by JEgean and Propontis, on the east by the Euxine, and on the 
west by the river Strymon, and the chain of mountains forming the 
continuation of Mount Rhodope. 

II. The Thracians were divided into many separate and indepen- 
dent tribes ; but the name of Thracians (©pa*^) seems to have been 
applied to them collectively in very early times. Thrace, according 
to Stephanus Byaantius, was originally called Perce (p.£pxq°). 

Illyricum. 

I. The name of Illyrians appears to have been common to the 
numerous tribes which were anciently in possession of the countries 
situated to the west of Macedonia, and which extended along the 



ITALIA. 301 

coast of the Adriatic, from the confines of Isiria and Italy, to the 
borders of Epirus. 

II. Still farther north, and more inland, we find them occupying 
the great valley of the Savus and Dravus, which were only termi- 
nated by the junction of those streams with the Danube. This large 
tract of country, under the Roman emperors, constituted the pro- 
vinces of Illyricum and Pannonia. 

III. Illyricum may be considered as divided into Illyria Bar- 
bara, or Romana, and Illyria Grseca. The former comprised the 
country lying between the river Arsia, now Arsa; the Savus, now 
Save, and its tributary the Drinus, now Drina ; the Adriatic, and 
the Drilo, now Drino Biancho, together with the islands along the 
shore. It was divided into Iapydia, Liburnia, and Dalmatia. The 
country called Illyria Grseca, added to Macedonia by Philip, the 
father of Alexander, extended from the Drilo to the Adus, now the 

Vojussa. 

Italia. 

I. The origin of the name Italia is uncertain. Some of the an- 
cient writers derived the term from Italus, a monarch, or chieftain, 
of the GBnotri ; while others made the word have reference to the 
numerous and fine oxen which the country produced, and accordingly 
deduced the name from the Greek itoxos, or its corresponding Latin 
term vitidus. Niebuhr, however, with great plausibility, maintains 
tkat Italia means nothing more than the country of the Itali, and 
is identical with Vitalia, the Itali having been also originally called 

Vital i. 

II. Other names for Italy were Hesperia, Ausonia, Satumia, and 
(Enotria. The first of these was originally given to it by the Greeks, 
and was subsequently adopted by the Latin poets, and means " the 
western land/' having reference to the position of Italy as being to 
the west of Greece. The names Ausonia and Satumia originated 
with the Latin poets, and the former means " the land of the Au- 
sones," an ancient people of the country ; the latter, " the land of 
Saturn," in allusion to the legend of Saturn's having taken up his 
dwelling-place in Italy when driven from the skies. The term (Eno- 
tria, or the " land of the CEnotri/' is of Greek origin, and was applied 
by that nation merely to the peninsula forming the south-western 
part of Italy, where dwelt the QEnotri, an ancient race. The Roman 
poets, however, extended the appellation to the whole of Italy. 

III. The name Italia was originally only a partial denomination, 
and was given at first to that southern extremity of the boot which 
lay below the Sinus Scyllaceus, or Scylleticus, now Gulf of Squil- 
lace, and the Sinus Terinseus, or Lameticus, now Gulf of St. Eu- 
phemia. 

IV. It was afterwards extended to all the country south of the 
26 



302 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

river Lails, in the west, which empties into the Lails Sinus, and the 
city of Metapontum, in the east, on the coast of the Sinus Tarenti- 
nus; Tarentum itself being still as yet beyond the limits of Italy, 
and belonging to lapygia. At a still later period, when the Greek 
colonies in the south of the peninsula formed an alliance among 
themselves for the purpose of mutual protection against Dionysius 
of Syracuse on the one hand, and the Lucanians and Bruttians on 
the other, the name Italia comprehended the whole country south of 
a line drawn from Posidonia, or Paestum, to Tarentum. 

V. After the war with Pyrrhus, b. c. 278, when the Romans had 
become masters of the whole of southern Italy, the name Italia com- 
prised the southern and middle parts of the peninsula up to the river 
Tiber, including also a part of Picenum. Again, about the time of 
Polybius, the name was used in a still wider sense, embracing the 
whole country to the south of the Rabicon, on the upper coast, and 
the Macra on the lower. And finally, in the reign of Augustus, the 
name Italia was extended to the foot of the Alps. 

VI. Previously to this last-mentioned and final extension of the 
name, the country between the Alps and the river Rubicon and 
Macra had been called Gallia Cisalpina, or Gaul, on this (the Ro- 
man) side of the Alps, to distinguish it from Gallia Transapina, or 
Gaul beyond the Alps. So, again, when Italy extended up to the 
Rubicon and Macra, it was commonly regarded as being subdivided 
into two portions, namely, Italia Propria and Magna Grseci ; the 
boundaries between the two being the river Silarus, now Sele, on 
the lower coast, flowing into the Sinus Psestanus, and the Prento, now 
Portore, on the upper, near the southern confines of the territory of 
the Frentani. 

VII. Hence arose the common division of the peninsula into three 
great portions, namely, Gallia Cisalpina in the north, Italia Pro- 
pria in the centre, and Magna, Grseci in the south. 

VIII. The boundaries of Italy in the reign of Augustus may be 
given as follows: on the north, the Alps; on the south, the Mare 
Ionium, or Ionian Sea; on the north-east, the Mare Superum, or 
Iladriaticum, now the Adriatic Sea; and on the south-west, the 
Mare Ivferum, or Tyrrhenum, now the Sea of Italy. 

IX. The extreme limit of Italy to the north-west was formed in 
the reign of Augustus by the Alpes Maritimse, or Maritime Alps, 
and the river Varus, now Var, which empties into the Sinus Ligus- 
ticus, or Gulf of Genoa. The limit to the north-east, in the time of 
that same emperor, was at first Tergeste, now Trieste ; but when the 
province of Histria was included by Augustus within the limits of 
Italy, the north-eastern limit was removed to the little river Arsia, 
now the Arsa. 

X. We are informed by Pliny that, after Augustus had extended 
the frontiers of Italy to the Maritime Alps and the river Arsia, he 



BOUNDARIES OP ITALY. 303 

divided that country into eleven regions: 1. Campania, including 
also Latium. 2. Apulia, to which was annexed part of Samnium. 
3. Lucania and Bruttium. 4. Samnium, together with the coun- 
try of Sabines, Marsi, JEqui, &c. 5. Picenum. 6. Vmbria. 7. 
Etruria. 8. Flaminia, extending from the Apennines, to the Pa- 
dus, or Po. 9. Liguria. 10. Venetia, containing Histria and the 
country of the Carni. 11. Transpddana, comprehending what re- 
mained between Venetia and the Alps. This division, however, is 
too seldom noticed to be of much utility. The following distribution 
has been adopted by most geographical writers, and will be found 
much more convenient, namely : 1. Liguria. 2. Gallia Cisalpina. 
3. Venetia, including the Carni and Histria. 4. Etruria. 5. Urn- 
bria and Picenum. 6. The Sablni, JEqui, Marsi, Peligni, Vestlni, 
Marruclni. 7. Roma. 8. Latium. 9. Campania. 10. Sam- 
nium and the Erentdni. 11. Apidia, including JDaunia and Mes- 
sapia y or Iapygia. 12. Lucania. 13. Bruttium. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Acts of the Apostles. 

On the day of Pentecost, a mixed multitude from many nations were 
filled with amazement at hearing the Apostles speak in their several 
native languages : Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, in- 
habitants of Asia Minor, of Crete, of Egypt, and Arabia. (Acts ii. 
9-11.) 

The enumeration begins with the most eastern, the Parthians, east 
of Media, the Medes, south of the Caspian Sea, and east of the Eu- 
phrates ) the Elamites, south of Media; the Mesopotamians, between 
the Tigris and Euphrates. 

Cappadocia and Pontus are north-eastern provinces of Asia Minor ] 
the latter, on the south-east coast of the Black Sea ; the former, 
south-east of Pontus. By Asia, Winer and De Wette understand 
the western part of Asia Minor, including Mysia, Lydia, and Caria. 
East of these were Phrygia and Pamphylia. 

Crete, south of the Grecian Archipelago, is a large island, a hun- 
dred and sixty miles in length, and varying in width from six to 
thirty-five miles. The other countries have been the subject of con- 
sideration in other portions of Scripture history. 

It is an interesting fact that the first Christian church out of 
Jerusalem was planted by Philip in the idolatrous city of Samaria, 
within one year after our Lord's passion. (Acts viii.) After this he 
expounds the Scriptures to the Ethiopian eunuch, in the country of 
the Philistines. Azotus is Ashdod of the Old Testament. 

Cjesarea. 

This city is about thirty-five miles north of Joppa, and fiffy-five 
from Jerusalem. It was built by Herod the Great, at immense 
expense. To form a harbour he constructed an extensive mole, or 
breakwater, sufficient to protect a fleet against the storms which rage 
on this inhospitable coast. It was built of large blocks of stone, 
brought from a great distance, and sunk to the depth of a hundred 
and twenty feet. To this stupendous work he added a temple, a the- 
atre and amphitheatre, together with many splendid buildings, and 
made it his own residence and the capital of Judea. After him it 
became the residence of the Roman governors. 

Its present state, and the historical recollections associated with it, 

(304) 



CJESAREA. 305 

in connection with the history of the Apostle Paul, are clearly ex- 
hibited by Dr. Wilson : — 

" The ruins are very extensive, lying along the shore to the north, 
where there are some remains of aqueducts. The wall of a fort, 
surrounded by a moat, still remains in tolerably good order. This 
Irby and Mangles suppose to be of Saracenic architecture. The 
ruins within it consist of foundations, arches, pillars, and great quan- 
tities of building material; but there is nothing distinctive about 
them. Various columns and masses of stone are seen lying in the 
sea close to the shore. 

" The only considerable pile of building standing is at the south- 
ern part of the fort, where travellers enter the gate to get a supply 
of water for themselves and cattle. At this place we observed only 
a solitary human being : and there are now not more than one or 
two families of herdsmen occasionally to be found at the Roman 
capital of Judea. Were either the Grecian Strato, who first marked 
the place by his tower, or Herod the Great, who built the city in a 
style of the greatest magnificence, and formed the breakwater neces- 
sary for constituting it a port, to raise his head, he would be asto- 
nished at the doings of the ruthless hand of man, and the still more 
potent hand of Time, the great destroyer. 

" It is mentioned in the New Testament in connection with cir- 
cumstances and events of great interest. Philip preached in all the 
cities intermediate between Ashdod and Csesarea.* (Acts viii. 40.) 
The Apostle Paul was brought down to it from Jerusalem, on his 
way to Tarsus, when the brethren were inducing him to escape from 
the violence of the Grecians, who had been irritated by his reason- 
ings. (Acts ix. 30.) It was the residence of Cornelius the centu- 
rion, the first Gentile convert. (Acts x. 1, &c. ; xi. 11.) It wit- 
nessed the judgment of God inflicted on Herod Agrippa, when — 
probably in the magnificent amphitheatre erected by his fatherj" — 
he was smitten by the angel of God, when glittering in the gorgeous 
display of his royal apparel, and rejoicing in the idolatrous plaudits 
of the maddened multitude. (Acts xii. 19 — 23.) 

u St. Paul concluded at it his voyage from Ephesus, and there 
saluted the church. (Acts xviii. 22.) This apostle made it a land- 
ing-place on a similar occasion, when he took up his abode for a time 
with Philip the Evangelist. (Acts xxi. 8, 16.) He was sent to it 
by Claudius Lysias to appear before Felix, in whose presence he 
uttered the noble speech which made that governor tremble. (Acts 
xxiii. 24 j xxiv.) Here he was imprisoned for two long years, till 
he was called forth to plead his cause before Festus and Agrippa. 

* A distance along the coast of fifty miles or more. 

-j- Grandfather? Herod Agrippa was a grandson of Herod the Great, and 
son of Aristobulus, who was cruelly put to death by his father. 
26* 



306 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

(Acts xxv. 26.) From Csesarea he sailed to imperial Rome, to finish, 
at that centre of influence and of power, his wondrous testimony to 
the cause of Christ. (Acts, xxvii. 1.)"* 

Martyrdom oe Stephen. 

There is much difficulty in settling the chronology of the first few 
chapters of the history of the Acts of the Apostles. Some chrono- 
logists assign the date of Stephen's martyrdom (Acts vii.) to the 
latter part of the first year after our Lord's ascension ; others, to the 
third or fourth year. The conversion of St. Paul they suppose to 
have occurred only a few months later. 

Conversion oe Saul. 

Damascus was a hundred and fifty miles from Jerusalem; but some 
of the early converts, perhaps some of the first fruits on the day of 
Pentecost, may have preached Christ at Damascus, and gathered a 
church there. 

It appears that Saul, after his conversion, retired for three years 
into some part of Arabia, east or south-east from Damascus. It was 
after this term of time, which Luke passes over in silence, that he 
was assisted to make his escape from Damascus, and conducted to 
Caesarea. 

From thence he returned to his own native city, Tarsus in Cilicia. 
Here we lose sight of this remarkable man, the future Apostle of the 
Gentiles, for ten or twelve years. (Acts ix.) 

Cilicia. 

Cilicia lies directly west of the north-east angle of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. It has fertile plains, but is surrounded by high moun- 
tains, through which there are only narrow passes. Tarsus was a 
large and populous city, distinguished for its schools and learned 
men, in which it ranked with Athens and Alexandria. It was there- 
fore " no mean city." The distance from Caesarea to Tarsus may be 
about three hundred miles. 

Lydda (Acts ix. 32, 35) is the ancient Lud. Saron is the fertile 
and beautiful plain of Sharon. 

The period of St. Paul's residence in Cilicia was one of tranquil- 
lity and prosperity to the church. The disciples that had been dis- 
persed at the persecution of Stephen, went everywhere preaching the 
doctrines of Christ; and when the historian again introduces St. Paul 
to our notice, A. D. 43, he informs us that they had already travelled 
to Phcenice, Antioch, and Cyprus. 

* Dr. Wilson, vol. i. pp. 250-252. 



cyprus, phoenicia, and antioch. 307 

The Island of Cyprus. 

Cyprus is a large, beautiful, and fertile island, a hundred and forty 
miles in length and fifty in width, which, however, varies greatly in 
different places. It is capable of sustaining a large population ; but 
has at present comparatively few inhabitants. 

Phoenicia. 

Phcenice, or Phoenicia, as before described, lies on the western 
declivity of Lebanon, and the coast of the Mediterranean, extending 
from near Mount Carmel, below Tyre, northward beyond Zidon and 
Beirut. It comprises about two degrees of latitude. 

City of Antioch. 

Antioch is near the northern extremity of Syria, above Phoenicia, 
and three hundred miles north of Jerusalem. It was a large and 
populous city, containing a hundred and fifty or two hundred thousand 
inhabitants. It was divided into four townships, each enclosed by a 
separate wall, and the four by a common wall. 

Its suburb, Daphne, celebrated for its grove and its fountains, its 
asylum and temple, was a vast forest " of laurels and cypresses, 
which reached as far as a circumference of ten miles, and formed, in 
the most sultry summers, an impenetrable shade. A thousand 
streams of the purest water, issuing from every hill, preserved the 
verdure of the earth and the temperature of the air." 

Antioch was celebrated for its refinements in the arts, and the 
cultivation of literature and philosophy. Cicero describes it as dis- 
tinguished for its learned men, and the cultivation of the fine arts.* 
It was the birthplace of Chrysostom, and the scene of his labours 
until his transfer to Constantinople. To this luxurious, dissolute, 
and idolatrous city, St. Paul, by request of Barnabas, directed his 
attention, and made it for many years the centre of his missionary 
operations. 

Few cities have survived greater vicissitudes of war, pestilence, 
and earthquakes, than Antioch. No less than two hundred and fifty 
thousand are said to have been destroyed in the sixth century by an 
earthquake ; the city being at the time thronged by multitudes who 
had gathered there to a festival. 

On the south-west side of the town is a precipitous mountain 
ridge, on which a considerable portion of the old Boman wall of 
Antioch is still standing, from thirty to fifty feet in height, and fif- 
teen in thickness. At short intervals four hundred high square 
towers are built up in it, each containing a staircase and two or three 

* Loco nobili et celebri quondam urbe et copiosa, atque eruditiosi homi- 
nibus liberalissiniisque studiis afnuente. 



308 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

chambers, probably for the use of the soldiers on duty. At the 
east end of the western hill are the remains of a fortress, with its 
turrets, vaults, and cisterns. Its present population may be fifteen 
or twenty thousand. 

First Missionary Tour of St. Paul. 

After the lapse of ten or twelve years, St. Paul appears in history 
at Antioch, whither he had come by personal invitation of Barnabas, 
A. d. 43. (Acts xi. 25.) 

Their visit to Jerusalem, the martyrdom of James, the imprison- 
ment and enlargement of Peter, and the death of Herod Agrippa 
(Acts ii. 27 — 30 ; xii.), are referred to the following year, a.d. 44. 

The same year St. Paul and Barnabas go out on their first mis- 
sion, accompanied by John and Mark. (Acts, xiii., xiv.) Seleucia, 
from whence they set sail, is the port of Antioch, at the mouth of 
the Orontes. 

Directing their course to Cyprus, the native place of Barnabas, 
they land at Salamis, on the eastern coast of the island, and travel 
through the length of it to Paphos, on the western coast, where 
occurred the incidents related of Sergius Paulus and Elymas the 
sorcerer. 

From thence St. Paul proceeds north-west to Perga, in Pamphy- 
lia, a province which joins Cilicia on the west. 

Without lingering here, he proceeds north into the interior to 
Antioch in Pisidia, a distance of eighty or ninety miles. Here are 
still found the remains of several churches and temples, besides a 
theatre, and a magnificent aqueduct, of which twenty-one arches 
still remain in a perfect state. Here the Apostle met with great 
success among the proselyte Gentiles, but was expelled from the city 
by the Jews. 

We next find him at Iconium, seventy-five or eighty miles east- 
by-south from Antioch, and about a hundred and twenty miles in the 
interior from the coast of the Mediterranean. It is now a walled 
town, inhabited by Moslems, and situated at the foot of Taurus, in 
a fertile plain ; rich in valuable productions, particularly in apricots, 
wine, cotton, flax, and grain. It carries on a considerable trade with 
Smyrna, by means of caravans. 

l)riven from this place, after having preached for some time with 
great success, Paul and Barnabas flee to Lystra and Derbe. The 
former is supposed to have been thirty or forty miles south of Ico- 
nium, and the latter fifteen or twenty miles east of Lystra (Acts xiv. 
19, 20) ) but the sites of these towns have not been recovered. 

" Nothing can more strongly show the little progress that has 
hitherto been made in a knowledge of the ancient geography of Asia 
Minor, than that of the cities which the journey of St. Paul has made 
so interesting to us. The site of only one, Iconium, is yet certainly 



SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR. 309 

known. " Timothy was a native of Lystra (Acts xvi. 12 ; 2 Tim. 
iii. 11), and Gaius, the friend and fellow-traveller of St. Paul, was 
a native of Derbe. (Acts xx. 4.) 

The Apostle now retraces his tour through Lystra, Iconium, Anti- 
och, and Perga ; and from thence goes to Attalia, about twenty miles 
west of Perga. The river Caractes falls with a great noise into the 
sea at this place. The town is composed of three parts, extending 
from the shore to the heights above. It is surrounded by a fertile 
district; but the heat is so insupportable in summer that most of the 
inhabitants remove during that season to the neighbouring moun- 
tains. At this place the Apostle, after having travelled by land and 
sea twelve or fourteen hundred miles, embarked for Antioch in Syria, 
at which place he arrived after an absence perhaps of a year and a 
half. Autumn? a.d. 45. 

Second Missionary Tour. 

After some time spent with the church at Antioch, St. Paul and 
Barnabas proposed to visit again the churches which they had estab- 
lished at their first mission. The interval which had elapsed since 
their first mission is estimated, by different chronologists, at from two 
to four years. 

During this time they had together visited the church at Jeru- 
salem, in consequence of the dissensions which sprang up at the 
church in Antioch, respecting the circumcision of Gentile converts. 
(Acts xv.) Our chronologist (Ordo Sseclorum, p. 126) assigns the 
council at Jerusalem to the end of A.D. 47, or beginning of A.D. 
48; and the departure of St. Paul on this second missionary tour to 
the spring following. 

After the unhappy and unworthy dissension between St. Paul and 
his early friend and faithful associate (Acts xv. 36 — 41), he took with 
him Silas, who had come with them from Jerusalem as a delegate 
to the church at Antioch, and with this fellow-labourer proceeded on 
his way, journeying by land around the north-east coast of the Medi- 
terranean through his native country, Cilicia, to Derbe and Lystra, 
where Timothy joins him. 

After visiting his former churches, he directs his course into 
Phrygia, a large and populous province in the central part of Asia 
Minor, extending north and west from Iconium. 

North of Phrygia lies Galatia, into which Paul also extends his 
labours; and here, according to Neander, he enjoyed that remarkable 
rapture, accompanied with the " thorn in the flesh," to which he 
refers in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, xii. 1 — 10. 

At Galatia, new fields of labour opened to the Apostle, on the 
right hand and on the left. But he was diverted by the Spirit of 
God from going, on the one hand, either south into Proconsular Asia, 



310 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the province of which we have already spoken ; or, on the other, 
north into Bith ynia, towards the shores of the Black Sea. 

Passing, therefore, by a circuitous course, around Mysia, lying 
west of Phrygia, and visiting, apparently, the cities of Philadelphia, 
Sardis, and Thyatira, the Apostle came to Troas, fifteen or twenty 
miles south of ancient Troy. 

The town itself was situated on an eminence opposite the island 
of Tenedos. The ruins of the place are now concealed in a thick 
wood of oak, with which the country abounds. The soil of this 
region is excellent, but it is poorly cultivated; and only a few mise- 
rable villages are thinly scattered over it. 

At Troas the Apostle met with Luke, the physician, author of this 
history of the Acts of the Apostles, and future companion of St. 
Paul in his travels. 

Here, warned by a vision, the Apostle set sail for Macedonia, on 
the opposite side of the iEgean Sea. He first touched at Samothrace, 
a small island in the northern part of the iEgean Sea, distinguished 
by a high mountain, described in the Missionary Herald for 1836, 
p. 246. There is now but a single village upon the island. 

From thence, by a north-westerly course, he sailed to Neapolis, 
and passed down the coast a short distance to Philippi. This city 
occupies a fertile plain between two ridges of mountains. The 
Acropolis is upon a mount standing out into the plain from the north- 
east. The city seems to have extended from the base of it for some 
distance to the south and south-west. The remains of the fortress 
upon the top consist of three ruined towers, and considerable portions 
of walls of stone, brick, and very hard mortar. The plain below ex- 
hibits nothing but ruins — heaps of stone and rubbish, overgrown 
with thorns and briars; but nothing is seen of the innumerable busts 
and statues, and thousands of columns, and vast masses of classic 
ruins, of which earlier travellers speak. 

Ruins of private dwellings are still visible ; also something of a 
semicircular shape, probably a forum or market-place, perhaps the 
one where St. Paul and Silas received their undeserved stripes. 

There is particularly worthy of notice an ancient palace, the archi- 
tecture of which is grand, and the materials costly. The pilasters, 
chapiters, &c, are of the finest white marble ; and the walls were 
formerly encased in the same stone. The marble blocks are gradually 
knocked down by the Turks and wrought into their silly grave-stones. 
Many of the ruins of the town are said to be covered at present with 
stagnant water. * 

In this city of ancient Thrace, St. Paul encountered various vicis- 
situdes of his missionary life. The conversion of Lydia, the silencing 

* See Miss. Herald for 1834, from which this account is taken. 



ST. PAUL AT ATHENS. 311 

of the sorceress, the uproar in the city, the scourging of St. Paul and 
Silas, their imprisonment, the miraculous opening of the prison doors, 
and the conversion and baptism of the jailer (Acts xvi. 9 — 40), are 
detailed by the historian. But the result was the establishment of 
a church, remarkable, above all others founded by the Apostle, for 
purity of doctrine and fidelity to Christ. To this church he addressed 
one of his epistles. 

From Philippi to Thessalonica, the Apostle passed down the coast 
through Amphipolis and Apollonia. The former, especially, was at 
this time a large commercial city. Both are now in ruins. They 
are about thirty miles apart, and at equal distances between Philippi 
and Thessalonica. 

Thessalonica is on the coast, near a hundred miles from Philippi, 
and perhaps four hundred from Constantinople. At that time it was 
rich and populous, and is still a city of sixty or seventy thousand 
inhabitants. It stands on the steep declivity of a hill, and presents 
an imposing appearance, which is not sustained by a nearer exami- 
nation. 

St. Paul and Silas continued here three or four weeks, preaching 
not merely in a synagogue of the Jews on the Sabbath, but teaching 
daily from house to house. (1 Thess. ii. 9 — 11.) The result of 
this ministry was the conversion of many devout Greeks and 
honourable women, until a persecution arose from the Jews which 
endangered the lives of St. Paul and Silas. They were secretly con- 
ducted out of the city, and passed on along the coast to the south, 
fifty miles or more, to Berea. 

The Apostle commends the Jews of this place for their candour 
and ingenuousness above that of the Jews of Thessalonica, because 
they daily searched the Scriptures to test the truth of his doctrine. 
But persecution, raised by some Jews who followed him from Thes- 
salonica, compelled him soon to withdraw from the place. Leaving 
Silas and Timothy behind (Acts xvii. 10 — 16), he proceeded to 
Athens. 

St. Paul at Athens. 

The Apostle, surrounded by statues and altars and temples, could 
not resist the impulse of his spirit to declare the doctrine of the living 
God; and without waiting for the arrival of Silas and Timothy, pro- 
ceeded not only to preach in the synagogue, but to hold daily con- 
versations in the market-places with the crowd of idlers who gathered 
there to hear and discuss the current news of the day. By the 
groups whom he gathered here he was led to the renowned Areopagus, 
where he addressed them standing in the midst of Mars-Hill, a few 
rods west of the noble Acropolis of Athens. 

This Acropolis is a high, rocky, and precipitous rampart, which 
rises immediately out of the plain of the city, on the summit of which 



312 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

were crowded together those noble structures, which have ever been 
admired as the most perfect models of Athenian taste and skill. 
Here, before the lofty Parthenon, surrounded by these proud temples, 
and standing almost in the very footprints of the great Athenian 
orator, he delivered, before the renowned sages of Athens, that dis- 
course which stands unrivalled as an example of Christian oratory. 
(Acts xvii. 16—34.) 

The customary place for public assemblies and' popular harangues 
was the Pnyx on the Acropolis, at a short distance east of Mars-Hill. 

The Pnyx was an extensive terrace cut out of the rocks in the 
shape of a semicircle, the arch of which is a terrace wall of huge 
polygonal rocks. The whole forms an amphitheatre so gigantic, that 
it can be compared to nothing but the fabled walls which tradition 
ascribes to the Cyclops themselves. 

This remarkable place was the assembly hall of the Athenians in 
the most glorious times of the republic. It was the central point of 
all Greece, where were delivered those masterpieces of eloquence 
which have delighted all succeeding ages. The semicircle contained 
an area of more than twelve thousand square yards, a space sufficient 
to accommodate the whole civic population of Athens, eight or ten 
thousand citizens. 

The chord of the semicircle which we have described was a bare 
wall of rock. An immense rectangular block projected in front of 
it, hewn away from the wall. Two staircases of stone led up from 
the platform below to this place. 

This was the celebrated rostrum from which the thunders of the 
eloquence of Demosthenes sounded out to the assembled Athenians 
in front. Connected as this spot is with the richest classic associa- 
tions, it is at present one of the most sublime on earth ; and, in the 
time of the great orator, with the sky of Attica above, the monu- 
ments of Athenian wealth and art on every side, and the sea of 
Attica glistening in the distance, it presented the noblest materials 
for the inspiration of eloquence. 

Mars-Kill, situated at a short distance west of the Acropolis, is 
another place of great interest to most classic as well as Christian 
pilgrims. A roughly-hewn staircase of sixteen steps, leading up the 
hill on the north-eastern slope, presents the way of ascent. A bench 
in the form of an immense triclinium is excavated out of the rock ; 
and the holes are still seen, in which were fastened ancient arm- 
chairs, several of which have been preserved in the cathedral church 
and in the house of the archbishop. 

In the legislation of Solon, in the sixth century before the Chris- 
tian era, this court exerted a most beneficial influence on the govern- 
ment of the state. Pericles deprived it of its weight in the decisions 
of the stormy democracy; but through the brightest ages of the 
commonwealth, the energy and high moral influence of this venera- 



ST. PAUL'S MISSIONARY TOUR. 313 

ble tribunal were almost unlimited. Such was the renowned assem- 
bly before whom the Apostle set forth in a masterly manner the 
doctrine of the great God our Saviour, instead of the unknown god 
whom they ignorantly worshipped. 

Such was St. Paul's anxiety for his new converts in Macedonia, 
that he consented to remain alone at Athens, that Silas might min- 
ister to the Bereans, and Timothy to the Thessalonians. From 
Athens, the Apostle proceeded alone to Corinth, where he continued 
from one and a half to two years. 

Corinth, distinguished also for the cultivation of the fine arts and 
of philosophy, was a large commercial city on the isthmus which 
unites the ancient Peloponnesus, the modern Morea, with the main- 
land. It had convenient harbours on either side, and commanded a 
large share of trade between Italy and Asia Minor. It was there- 
fore a favourable point for communicating with other places. 

The Apostle was greatly assisted in this place by his acquaintance 
with the converted Jew, Aquila, and his wife Priscilla, of Pontus in 
Asia Minor. During his residence here he was again joined by 
Silas and Timothy ; and wrote, at different times, his First and Se- 
cond Epistles to the Thessalonians, A. d. 49, 50. 

From Corinth, St. Paul hastened back to Palestine, merely stop- 
ping at Ephesus for a short time, where he left Aquila and his wife, 
who had sailed with him from Cenchraea, the eastern port of 
Corinth. 

Ephesus subsequently became the theatre of St. Paul's labours, 
and the seat of Christianity in Asia Minor. It is now in utter ruins, 
but its site is recognized on a plain at the head of a bay near the 
island of Samos, perhaps fifty or sixty miles south of Smyrna. 

The proud temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the world, 
the building of which occupied two hundred and twenty years, has 
crumbled down to dust, and left no traces even of its position. A 
few detached fragments of masonry, some broken columns and capi- 
tals, slight remains of an ancient dilapidated circus and theatre, in 
gloomy desolation, mark the situation of this proud city, hallowed 
as the chosen residence of the Apostle Paul, of Timothy, and of 
John the beloved disciple. 

With the hope of removing the prejudices of the Jews and of 
Jewish converts, and to prevent an outbreak between them and the 
Gentile converts, St. Paul, after an absence of three years, A. D. 
48 — 51, resolved to return to Palestine. On this return he visited 
Jerusalem and performed a vow, by presenting an offering publicly 
in the temple, after the manner of the Jews. (Acts xviii.) 

From Jerusalem he hastened to Antioch, where he met with Bar- 
nabas and other friends and former associates in publishing the Gos- 
pel. Here he was also joined by Peter; and the Apostles of the 
27 



314 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Jews united in Christian fellowship with the Apostles of the Gen- 
tiles, as fellow-labourers in a common cause. 

" But this beautiful unanimity was disturbed by some Judaizing 
zealots, who came from Jerusalem, probably with an evil design, 
since what they had heard of the free publication of the gospel 
among the heathen was offensive to their contracted feelings. For a 
considerable time the pharisaically-minded Jewish Christians ap- 
peared to have been silenced by the apostolic decisions, but they 
could not be induced to give up an opposition so closely allied with 
a mode of thinking exclusively Jewish, against a completely free and 
independent gospel. 

" The constant enlargement of St. Paul's sphere of labour among 
the heathen, of which they became more fully aware by his journeys 
to Jerusalem and Antioch, excited afresh their suspicion and jea- 
lousy. Though they professed to be delegates sent by James from 
Jerusalem, it by no means follows that they were justified in so 
doing ; for before this time such Judaizers had falsely assumed a 
similar character. These persons were disposed not to acknowledge 
the uncircumcised Gentile Christians who observed no part of the 
Mosaic ceremonial law, as genuine Christian brethren, as brethren 
in the faith, endowed with privileges equal to their own in the kingdom 
of Messiah. As they looked upon them as still unclean, they refused 
to eat with them. 

" The same Peter who had at first asserted so emphatically the 
equal rights of the Gentile Christians, and afterwards at the last 
apostolic convention had so strenuously defended them — now allowed 
himself to be carried away by a regard to his countrymen, and for 
the moment was faithless to his principles. We here recognise the 
old nature of Peter, which, though conquered by the Spirit of the 
Gospel, was still active, and on some occasions regained the ascend- 
ancy. The same Peter who, after he had borne the most impressive 
testimony to the Redeemer, at the sight of danger for an instant 
denied him. 

" The example of an apostle whose character stood so high, influ- 
enced other Christians of Jewish descent, so that even Barnabas 
withdrew from holding intercourse with Gentile Christians. St. 
Paul, who condemned what was evil, without respect of persons, 
called it an act of hypocrisy. He alone remained faithful to his 
principles, and in the presence of all administered a severe repri- 
mand to Peter, and laid open the inconsistency of his conduct. 
(Gal. ii.) 

" If we fix this controversy of St. Paul and St. Peter — which, as 
the following history shows, produced no permanent separation 
between them — exactly at this period, it will throw much light on the 
connection of events. Till now the pacification concluded at Jeru- 
salem between the Jewish and Gentile Christians had been main- 



THIRD MISSIONARY TOUR. 315 

tained inviolate. Till now Paul had to contend only with Jewish 
opponents, not with Judaizers in the churches of Gentile Christians ; 
but now the opposition between the Jewish and Gentile Christians, 
which the apostolic resolutions had repressed, again made its ap- 
pearance. 

" As in this capital of Gentile Christianity, which formed the 
central point of Christian missions, this controversy first arose, so 
exactly in the same spot it broke forth afresh, notwithstanding the 
measures taken by the Apostles to settle it ) and having once been 
renewed, it spread itself through all the churches where there was 
a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. Here St. Paul had first to combat 
that party whose agents afterwards persecuted him in every scene of 
his labours/'* 

Third Missionary Tour. 

After remaining in Jerusalem a short time, the Apostle returned 
to Ephesus, following the course of his former tour through Cilicia 
to Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, then proceeding north to Galatia; 
and from thence through Phrygia to his place of destination, where 
he is supposed to have arrived in the beginning of the year 51. 
(Acts xviii. 23.) 

Soon after taking up his residence at Ephesus, St. Paul, in the 
opinion of Bleek, approved by Neander, Schott, and Credner, made 
a second visit to Corinth, of which the historian has left no record. 
The incidents recorded in the nineteenth chapter of Acts are indeed 
referable to this period of time ; but the history of these eventful 
years of his life is wholly unknown, except so far as is inferred from 
his epistles. From Ephesus he wrote his Epistle to the Galatians, 
and the First to the Corinthians. 

u At the time of his writing this epistle to Corinth, he had formed 
an extensive plan for his future labours. As during his stay of sev- 
eral years in Achaia and at Ephesus, he had laid a sufficient founda- 
tion for the extension of the Christian church among the nations 
who used the Greek langurge, he now wished to transfer his minis- 
try to the West; and as it was his fundametal principle to make 
those regions the scene of his activity where no one had laboured 
before him, he wished on that account to visit Rome, the metropolis 
of the world, where a church had long since been established, in his 
way to Spain (Horn. xv. 24, 28), and then to commence the publica- 
tion of the gospel at the extremity of Western Europe. 

" But, before putting this plan into execution, he wished to obtain 
a munificent collection in the churches of the Gentile Christians for 
their poor believing brethren at Jerusalem, and to bring the amount 
himself to Jerusalem, accompanied by some members of the 

* Neander, vol. i. pp. 245 — 249. 



316 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

churches. Already, some time before he despatched this epistle to 
the Corinthians, he had sent Timothy and some others to Macedonia 
and Achaia to forward this collection, and to counterwork the dis- 
turbing influences in the Corinthian church. (1 Cor. iv. 17.) 

" He hoped to receive through him an account of the impression 
which his epistle had made. But he found himself deceived in his 
expectations, for Timothy was probably prevented from travelling as 
far as Corinth, and came back to Ephesus without bringing the in- 
formation which the Apostle expected. The Apostle, animated by 
a tender paternal anxiety for the church, became uneasy respecting 
the effect produced by his epistle ; he, therefore, sent Titus to Co- 
rinth, for the purpose of obtaining information, and that he might 
personally operate on the church in accordance with the impression 
made by the Epistle."* 

After leaving Ephesus, St. Paul seems to have laboured for some 
time at Troas, while awaiting in vain the return of Titus from Co- 
rinth. He then set sail again for Macedonia, where he had gratify- 
ing evidence that the churches which had been planted there were 
advancing in the Christian life. The remainder of the summer and 
autumn he spent in Macedonia, and the winter A. D. 54 — 5, in Greece, 
principally at Corinth (Acts xx. 42), where he wrote his Epistle to 
the Romans. 

In the spring of A. D. 55, or, according to Neander, A. D. 58, or 
59, he again returns by land to Philippi, where he takes ship and 
arrives at Troas, now for the third time, and at the Jewish Passover 
— the days of unleavened bread. (Acts xx. 6.) He travelled on foot 
to Assos, a distance of more than a day's journey south of Troas, 
where he joined his party and sailed to Mitylene, on the island of 
Lesbos, opposite Assos, from which it is separated by a narrow strait. 
Another day's sail brought them to Chios, now Scio, not far from 
Smyrna, south-east of the bay. This island is memorable in modern 
times for the atrocious butchery of the inhabitants by the Turks in 
1822. 

The next day he touched at the island of Samos, and passed on to 
Trogillum, on the mainland opposite. The day following he landed 
at Miletus, about thirty miles south of Ephesus, and withdrawn a 
little from the coast, on a stream of water. Here he had an affec- 
tionate farewell interview with the elders of Ephesus, under the full 
consciousness that they would see his face no more. (Acts xx.) 

Miletus was the capital of the province of Ionia, and a place of 
considerable importance. There was, for several centuries, a Chris- 
tian church in the city, but the place is now deserted and in ruins. 

Rhodes, at which he touched on his voyage, is an island lying off 
the south-west coast of Asia Minor ; celebrated, from the remotest 

* Neander, vol. i. pp. 309-311. 



PTOLEMAIS. 317 

antiquity, as the seat of commerce, navigation, literature, and the 
arts. The climate is delightful, and the soil fertile; the scenery 
highly picturesque, and the air perfumed with the richest fragrance ; 
and yet, by the devastations of war and the rapacity of the Turks, 
the inhabitants are reduced to extreme poverty. It is famous in 
ancient story for its huge Colossus, a hundred and twenty-six feet in 
height. 

Patara is a small port on the coast, a day's sail east of Rhodes. From 
this place they direct their course to Tyre, passing Cyprus on the left. 

After remaining with the Christian converts in Tyre one week, the 
Apostle proceeded on his way to Ptolemais, where also he found 
Christians, with whom he tarried one day. This city is the modern 
Acre, Accho, or Akka. It is thirty miles below Tyre, and eight 
north of Mount Carmel. This town, the key of Syria, is more 
strongly fortified than any other in the country. The appearance ot 
its defences is still formidable, notwithstanding all the vicissitudes of 
war which it has survived. 

It stands on an angular promontory jutting into the sea. The 
walls are in many places double ; and those on the landside are pro- 
tected by strong outworks of mounds with facings of stone. The 
walls are remarkably strong. 

Age after age it has flourished and fallen into decay, with the 
alternations of peace and war. It was the stronghold of the Crusad- 
ers; and was besieged by Bonaparte. In 1332 it sustained a siege 
of six months against Ibrahim Pacha, during which thirty-five thou- 
sand shells were thrown into it. Again in 1840 it was bombarded 
by the English fleet; and was reduced by the explosion of the pow- 
der magazine, by which two thousand soldiers were hurried into eter- 
nity without a moment's warning. It is said that the art of making 
glass was first discovered in this place in the following manner : — 

" Some Sidonians, on their return from a trading- voyage to Egypt, 
where they had taken some nitre on board for ballast, once landed 
under the walls of Accho, and encamped near the mouth of the river 
Belus. In order to cook their food, one of the crew gathered some 
of the saline plants that grew on the banks of the river, and made a 
fire with them ; another brought from the vessel a large piece of 
nitre, and put it in the fire to support the kettle. The nitre soon 
began to melt, and mingling with the sand and salt, formed a clear, 
transparent substance. They examined into the matter, and found 
that the nitre, by coming in contact with the sand, caused it to melt, 
and thus they discovered the composition of what we call glass. The 
fine silicious sand of the Belus is very well adapted to the manufac- 
ture of this article, and many ship-loads of it are annually exported 
for the use of the Venetian glass factories/'* 

* Biblical Geography, pp. 20, 21. 

27* 



318 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

From Ptolemais to Caesarea was but a short voyage, and from 
thence, contrary to all remonstrances of his friends, he pressed on, 
bound in spirit, not knowing what might befal him in this his last 
visit to Jerusalem. 

The Apostle was about to bring to a close his ministry in the East. 
The charitable collection which he had made, and which he was bound 
to deliver in person, constitute an epoch in his life and in the develop- 
ment of the church, which will be best explained in the words of 
Neander : — 

" A year had passed since he had with great zeal set this collec- 
tion on foot among the churches of Gentile Christians in Asia and 
Europe, and it was of importance to him that it should be very pro- 
ductive. He had already written to the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 
xvi. 4), that if this collection equalled his wishes, he would convey 
it himself to Jerusalem. It was certainly not merely his intention 
to assist the poor of the church at Jerusalem in their temporal neces- 
sities; he had an object still more important for the development of 
the church, to effect a radical cure of the breach between the Jewish 
and the Gentile Christians, and to seal for perpetuity the unity of 
the church. 

" As the immediate power of love can effect more to heal the schism 
of souls, than all formal conferences in favour of union, so the man- 
ner in which the Gentile churches evinced their love and gratitude 
to the mother-church, would accomplish what had not yet been 
attained by all attempts at union. 

" Paul wished, since he was accompanied to Jerusalem by the mes- 
sengers of these churches, who practically contradicted the charges 
disseminated against him by his Jewish and Judaizing adversaries, 
that the proofs of the sympathizing and self-sacrificing love of the 
Gentile Christians should serve as evidence to the Jewish Christians, 
who had imbibed prejudices against them, of what could be effected 
by the preaching of the gospel independently of the law of Moses : so 
that they would be obliged to acknowledge the operation of God's 
Spirit among these, whom they had always been indisposed to re- 
ceive as brethren in the faith. St. Paul himself plainly indicates this 
to have been his chief object in this collection and journey. (2 Cor. 
ix. 12—15.)* 

" The next day after his arrival at Jerusalem, St. Paul with his 
companions visited James the brother of the Lord, at whose house 
the presbyters of the church were assembled. They listened with 
great interest to his account of the effects of the Gospel among the 
Gentiles. But James called his attention to the fact, that a great 
number of Jews who believed on Jesus as the Messiah, and were yet 
zealous and strict observers of the Mosaic law, were prejudiced against 

* Neander, vol. i. pp. 343, 344, 



ST. PAUL AT JERUSALEM. 319 

him ; for those Judaizers, who everywhere sought to injure Paul's 
ministry, had circulated in Jerusalem the charge against him, that, 
not content with releasing the believing Gentiles from the observ- 
ance of the Mosaic law, he had required of the Jews who lived 
among them not to circumcise their children, and not to observe 
the law. 

" This charge, so brought forward, was certainly false ; for St. 
Paul combated the outward observance of Judaism only so far as the 
justification and sanctification of men were made to depend upon it. 

" As by this accusation the conduct of St. Paul would be presented 
in a false light, and since he was far from being such an enemy to 
Judaism as his adversaries wished him to appear, he declared himself 
to be ready, as James proposed, to refute that charge by an overt 
act, by taking part in the Jewish cultus in a mode which was highly 
esteemed by pious Jews. He joined himself to four members of the 
church, who had undertaken a Nazarite's vow for seven days. He 
submitted to the same restraints, and intimated to the priests that he 
would be answerable for the expense of the offerings that were to be 
presented on the accomplishment of the purification. But though 
he might have satisfied by this means the minds of the better disposed 
among the Jewish Christians, the inveterate zealots among the Jews 
were not at at all conciliated. On the contrary, they were only more 
incensed, that the man who, as they said, had everywhere taught the 
Gentiles to blaspheme the people of God, the Law and the Temple, 
had ventured to take a part in the Jewish cultus. They had seen 
a Gentile Christian, Trophimus, in company with him, and hence 
the fanatics concluded he had taken a Gentile with him into the 
temple and defiled it. A violent tumult instantly arose, and St. 
Paul was rescued from the enraged multitude only by means of the 
Roman tribune, who hastened to the spot with a band of soldiers 
from the Arx Antonia, situated over against the temple, the quar- 
ters of the Roman garrison."* 

The remaining incidents of this visit are detailed in Acts xxiii. 
Antipatris, to which he was conducted by a strong military escort on 
his way to Caesarea, was a town built by Herod the Great, on the 
plain of Sharon, some distance from the coast, fifteen miles north of 
Lydda or Ramleh, twenty-six south-by-east from Caesarea, and near 
forty north-north-west from Jerusalem. 

The ruins of an ancient Roman road still conduct the curious tra- 
veller securely along the route over which the Apostle was guarded 
by a Roman escort from Jerusalem to Antipatris. This road was 
undoubtedly the principal line of travel and transportation between 
the city and the coast of the Mediterranean. 

After lingering two years in confinement at Caesarea, he was per-. 

* NeaDder, vol. i. pp. 352-859. 



320 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

mitted to proceed on his way to Rome, to prosecute his appeal before 
the governor. 

Chronologists greatly differ in regard to the date of this journey 
to Rome, as also in relation to all his journeyings. His voyage to 
Rome is referred by different computations to A. D. 56, 59, 61, 62, 
and 63. 

How extensive the travels, how vast the results of the missionary 
labours of this great Apostle in the East ! Within a few years he 
had traversed the countries of Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and most of 
the provinces of Asia Minor, Macedonia, Achaia, and Corinth ; toge- 
ther with the island of Cyprus, preaching everywhere the gospel of 
the grace of God, testifying both to Jew and Gentile, repentance and 
faith in Christ, and establishing churches, over all of which he had 
watched with more than parental tenderness. 

St. Paul's Voyage to Rome. 

In going to Rome, the usual way was to embark for some port in 
Asia Minor, and there take passage for Italy, because it was not easy 
to find a ship that might sail from Caesarea direct for Rome. (Comp. 
Acts xxvii., xxviii.) The centurion who had St. Paul in charge, 
accordingly embarked at Zidon on board a ship from Adramyttium, 
a small port opposite the isle of Lesbos; and sailing north of 
Cyprus, coasted along by Cilicia and Pamphylia, and touched at 
Myra, in Lycia, west of Perga and Attalia, and east of Patara. 

Here they changed ship, and continued slowly advancing along 
the coast against baffling winds until they arrived at Cnidus, a small 
town on the south-western promontory of Asia Minor. They then 
changed their course, and sailed around the south shore of Crete. 
Salmone is a promontory forming the eastern extremity of the'island. 
Fair Havens is a roadstead, or insecure harbour, near the middle of 
the southern coast. 

The season was now far advanced, as is indicated by the fact that 
the fast of the propitiation, the great day of the atonement, which 
occurred in the month Tisri, October 10, was already passed. (Acts 
xxvii. 9; Comp. Lev. xvi. 1 — 34; Num. xxix. 1 — 11.) 

Ph^iffce, which they vainly attempted to reach, lay on the same 
coast, further west. Clauda, near which the ship became unmanage- 
able after having been struck by a fearful tempest, is a very small 
island at the south-western extremity of Crete. 

After passing this, they were driven for many days at the mercy 
of wind and wave in the Adriatic Sea, that portion of the Mediter- 
ranean between Greece, Italy, and the coast of Africa, until they 
were finally wrecked on the island of Malta, called then Melita. 

" The name of St. Paul's Bay has been given to the place where 
the shipwreck is supposed to have taken place. This, the sacred 
historian says, was at ( a certain creek with a shore/ i. e. a seemingly 



ST. PAUL AT ROME. 321 

practicable shore, on which they purposed, if possible, to strand the 
vessel, as their only apparent chance to escape being broken on the 
rocks. In attempting this, the ship seems to have struck and gone 
to pieces on the rocky headland at the entrance of the creek. This 
agrees very well with St. Paul's Bay, more so than with any other 
creek of the island. This bay is a deep inlet on the north side of 
the island, being the last identation of the coast but one from the 
western extremity of the island. It is about two miles deep, by one 
mile broad. The harbour which it forms is very unsafe at some 
distance from the shore, although there is good anchorage in the 
middle for light vessels. The most dangerous part is the western 
headland at the entrance of the bay, particularly as there is close to 
it a small island (Salamone), and a still smaller islet (Salamonetta), 
the currents and shoals around which are particularly dangerous in 
stormy weather. It is usually supposed that the vessel struck at this 
point. 

" The island of Malta lies in the Mediterranean, about sixty miles 
south from Cape Passaro, in Sicily. It is sixty miles in circumfer- 
ence, twenty in length, and twelve in breadth. Near it, on the west, 
is a smaller island, called Gozo, about thirty miles in circumference. 
Malta has no mountains or high hills, and makes no figure from the 
sea. It is naturally a barren rock, but has been made in parts abun- 
dantly fertile by the industry and toil of man."* 

After lingering here three months, they sailed to Syracuse, a 
large, wealthy, and beautiful city on the east coast of Sicily. It is 
said to have contained a million of inhabitants, and still has a popu- 
lation of two hundred and forty thousand. The cathedral of the 
city, it is said, was a temple of Minerva twenty-five hundred years 
ago. 

Bhegium, where they next landed, is in the extreme south of Italy, 
opposite Messina. Between these places is the strait of the fabu- 
lous Scylla and Charybdis. A favourable south wind the next day 
carried them through this strait to Puteoli, four miles north of 
Naples, and sixty south of Rome ; where the Apostle found Chris- 
tian brethren, with whom he tarried seven days. 

The fame of the Apostle's approach had reached the brethren 
also at Borne, who came out forty-three miles to meet him, at Appii 
Forum. Others, again, met him at the Three Taverns, eight or ten 
miles nearer Borne. At the affectionate salutation of these breth- 
ren, his spirits were greatly refreshed. He thanked God and took 
courage. 

Appii Forum derived its name from a noble Boman, who under- 
took to build a solid road through the Pontine marshes. Three 
Taverns is the name of a town, which took its name from the tabernse, 

* Kitto's Cyclopaedia, vol. ii. p. 324. 



322 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

shops for the sale of refreshments, rather than inns for the enter- 
tainment of travellers. The badness of the water at Appii Forum, 
of which Horace complains (Sat. i. 5, 7), may have been a reason 
for the establishing of this place for rest and refreshment. The ruins 
of this place still exist under the same name. 

The report of Festus and Agrippa, confirmed as it must have been 
by the centurion who had conducted St. Paul to Rome, appears to 
have made a favourable impression respecting him. He was accord- 
ingly treated with more indulgence than the other prisoners. He 
was allowed to have a private dwelling, to enjoy the free intercourse 
of his friends, and to correspond with those that were absent. Only 
a single soldier attended him as guard, to whom, according to the 
military custom of holding one under arrest, he was fastened by a 
chain on the arm. 

Three days after his arrival he began his benevolent labours, with 
the Jews first : and continued for two full years, while detained as 
a prisoner, to receive all who came to him, " preaching the kingdom 
of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus 
Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him." (Acts 
xxviii. 17, 31.) 

During this confinement at Rome, Paul wrote his Epistles to Phi- 
lemon, to the Philippians, to the Hebrews, and to the church at 
Colosse. 

This town was near a hundred and fifty miles east of Ephesus in 
Phrygia, and not far from Laodicea. It is mentioned by Xenophon, 
in his Anabasis, as a large and flourishing city. It was afterwards 
destroyed by an earthquake, but was again rebuilt, and is still known 
as a small village called Khomas. 

A high mountain rises immediately behind the village, in which 
there is an immense perpendicular chasm, from which issues a wide 
mountain torrent. On the left side of the chasm, upon the summit 
of the rock, and on the plain below, a few traces of the ancient town 
are observable. 

Here our history of the labours of St. Paul abruptly terminates ; 
but it is generally admitted that he was released from confinement, 
and continued for a few years his missionary labours. Neander sup- 
poses him to have visited the churches which he had formerly planted 
in Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, and Asia Minor ; and to have preached 
the gospel also in Crete. During this time he wrote his Epistle to 
Titus, and the First to Timothy. 

After this he went into Western Europe, in fulfilment of the pur- 
pose he had cherished so long; and then, probably in Spain, was 
soon arrested and brought back a prisoner to Rome. 

Now, in full prospect of death, he writes his Second Epistle to 
Timothy. In this final address, he exhibits, in a most endearing 
light, his elevated composure, his forge tfulness of himself his tender 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 323 

parental care of his disciples, his concern for the cause in which he 
had so long and so faithfully laboured, and his assured confidence of 
"Its final triumph. The aged Apostle, after a pilgrimage of sixty 
years or more, worn down with^ ceaseless toil, and ready for his de- 
parture, pants for the repose of heaven. And, according to his 
desire, so it is granted to him. Heaven is already let down into his 
soul. Its triumph is begun. The crown of glory which is just set- 
tling on his head, sheds its divine radiance on the victor's brow and 
fires his eye, while he exclaims : "lam now ready to be offered, and 
the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous Judge, shall give unto me." 

And now, in the heights of heaven, highest in honour among them 
who have turned many to righteousness, his gladdened spirit still 
shouts, " Oh, the height, the length, the depth, and the breadth of 
the love of Christ, which passe th knowledge I" "By the grace of 
God I am what I am." 

" Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit^ 
for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." 

The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them 
which are sent unto thee, how oft would I have gathered thy children to- 
gether, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate. (Matthew xxiii. 37.) 

.... Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times 
of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke xxi. 24.) 

How memorable are the associations which rise to the mind of the 
Christian at the very name of Jerusalem ! Within its walls, David, 
the psalmist, the sweet singer, of Israel, composed the songs still 
sung in every Christian land. There Solomon built and dedicated 
that first temple, within whose Holy Place the Most High conde- 
scended to manifest his presence. There Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
and nearly all the prophets and mighty men of Old Testament his- 
tory dwelt, triumphed, or suffered. There, at length, in the fulness 
of time, the angel of G-od appeared to the high priest Zecharias, and 
announced to him that he should have a son, who should be the 
forerunner of our Great High Priest, the long-expected Messiah. 
Within its temple the Holy Child first manifested his divine wisdom 
disputing with the doctors. Within its streets his most mighty acts 
were performed ; and in an upper chamber there that solemn sacra- 
mental rite was instituted, which Christians of every succeeding age 
have practised in obedience to his commandment, and in remembrance 
of his dying love : and, finally, Jerusalem is the city over which 



324 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Jesus wept, as lie exclaimed, u Jerusalem, thou that killest the 
prophets, and stonest^hem that are sent unto thee, how often would 
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and ye would not !" 

But not less distinguished in her overthrow than in all other 
respects is the glorious but doomed city of Zion ; in that her destruc- 
tion was the time and prefigurement of the final close of our world's 
being, when these elements shall melt with fervent heat. "In 
patience possess your souls," said Christ, addressing his disciples, and 
forewarning them of the approaching fulfilment of ancient prophecy ; 
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then 
know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are 
in Judea flee to the mountains ; and let them which are in the midst 
of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter 
thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which 
are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, 
and to them that give suck, in those days ! for there shall be great 
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall 
fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all 
nations : and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until 
•the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in 
the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars : and upon the earth dis- 
tress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring, 
men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
which are coming on the earth : for the powers of heaven shall be 
shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud, 
with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come 
to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads ; for your redemption 
draweth nigh." 

All that is here foretold of the Jewish capital literally came to 
pass, and all that was forewarned of its people is still being accom- 
plished. The time of the Gentiles is not yet fulfilled, and Mount 
Zion, once u beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth," is 
still trodden down of the Gentiles, after nearly eighteen hundred 
years have passed over its fallen palaces and walls, whose stones are 
still dear to the outcast Hebrew. 

Immortalized by revolutions more various and destructive than 
have occurred in any other city of the world, Jerusalem claims a sad 
pre-eminence in suffering, as once she did in glory. Seventeen times 
has it been sacked and partially destroyed. It has been the field of 
the most brilliant exploits of the Jewish, Roman, and Saracen armies, 
and has been moistened by the blood of our ancestors during the 
romantic ages of the Crusades. 

During the reign of Nero, the Jews having revolted, the city was 
invested by Titus, and having desperately sustained the most re- 
markable siege in history, from the 14th of April, to the 2nd of 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 325 

September, in the year A. d. 71, it was taken, and, together with 
the temple, plundered and burnt. The Jews, after having courage- 
ously defended the third and second walls, fell back upon the fortress 
Antonia which commanded the temple. Torn into factions among 
themselves, they fought madly against each other, whilst the Romans 
burned and laid waste the outer and lower cities of Bezetha and 
Acra ; but Titus, after great labour, having brought the war-engines 
to bear upon this fortress, the Jews were ultimately driven back upon 
the temple itself. The principal tower having fallen, the northern 
portico of the temple was left defenceless. Titus, commanding in 
person, was anxious to save it, but, on the seventh day after the 
Romans had taken possession of Antonia, the outer portico having 
caught fire, the temple itself, together with the magnificent porticos 
by which it was surrounded, was totally destroyed. 

Being the Feast of the Passover, the city was crowded with people, 
and Josephus, who was present, relates that six hundred thousand 
perished of famine, one million by the sword, and ninety-seven thou- 
sand were sent away prisoners. The young, with the women, were 
sold for slaves, and thirty might be bought for a piece of silver. 

Dr. Keith, in pointing out the exact fulfilment of every tittle of 
ancient prophecy in this awful overthrow, after referring to the hor- 
rors of the famished wretches within the walls — too horrible to read 
— thus depicts this final scene : — " Sixty thousand Roman soldiers 
unremittingly besieged them ; they encompassed Jerusalem with a 
wall, and hemmed them in on every side; they brought down their 
high and fenced walls to the ground; they slaughtered the slaugh- 
terers, they spared not the people ; they burned the temple in defiance 
of the commands, the threats, and the resistance of their general. 
With it the last hope of all the Jews was extinguished. They raised, 
at the sight, an universal but an expiring cry of sorrow and despair. 
Ten thousand were there slain, and six thousand victims were enve- 
loped in its blaze. The whole city, full of the famished dying, and 
of' the murdered dead, presented no picture but that of despair, no 
scene but of horror. The aqueducts and the city sewers were crowded 
as the last refuge of the hopeless. Two thousand were found dead 
there, and many were dragged from thence and slain. The Roman 
soldiers put all indiscriminately to death, and ceased not till they 
became faint and weary, and overpowered with the work of destruc- 
tion. But they only sheathed the sword to light the torch. They 
set fire to the city in various places. The flames spread everywhere, 
and were checked but for a moment by the red streamlets in every 
street. Jerusalem became heaps, and the mountain of the house as 
the high places of the forest. Within the circuit of a few miles, in 
the space of five months, — foes and famine, pillage and pestilence, 
within, — a triple wall around, and besieged every moment from 
without — eleven hundred thousand human beings perished, though 
28 



826 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

the tale of each of them was a tragedy. Was there ever so concen- 
trated a mass of misery ? Could any prophecy be more faithfully 
and awfully fulfilled ? The prospect of his own crucifixion, when 
Jesus was on his way to Calvary, was not more clearly before him, 
and seemed to affect him less, than the fate of Jerusalem. How full 
of tenderness, and fraught with truth, was the sympathetic response 
of the condoling sufferer to the wailings and lamentations of the 
women who followed him, when he turned unto them and beheld 
the city, which some of them might yet see wrapt in flames and 
drenched in blood, and said, i Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for 
me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For, behold, 
the days are coming, in which they will say, blessed are the barren, 
and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave 
suck/ " 

Babylon, Nineveh, and the mighty cities of Assyria, are all buried 
under their heaps, but Jerusalem lives on, reserved for other and 
brighter days. She too, it may be, holds buried treasures that shall 
yet be disinterred, to add new evidence to all that has been already 
yielded, though Titus commanded the whole city and temple to be 
razed from the foundation. The soldiers were not then disobedient 
to their general. Avarice combined with duty and with resentment : 
the altar, the temple, the walls, and the city, were overthrown from 
the base, in search of the treasures which the Jews, beset on every 
hand by plunderers, had concealed during the siege. Three towers 
and the remnant of a wall alone stood, the monument and memorial 
of Jerusalem ; and the city was afterwards ploughed over by Teren- 
tius Rufus. 

The Roman ploughshare tore up the very foundations of the 
temple, leaving no longer one stone upon another, and the triumphal 
arch of Titus, erected at Rome in commemoration of the destruction 
of Jerusalem, still stands in evidence of the captured spoils of the 
last temple, wherein the desire of all nations had appeared, making 
the glory of the latter house greater than the former. Sculptured 
on this memorial of the triumph of Titus, are still seen the Roman 
soldiers, bearing on their shoulders the seven-branched candlestick, 
and the holy vessels of the temple. 

Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord 
of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his an- 
cients gloriously. (Isaiah xxiv. 23.) 

Awake, awake ; put on thy strength, Zion ; put on thy beautiful gar- 
ments, Jerusalem, the holy city . . . shake thyself from the dust ; arise 
and sit down, Jerusalem ; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, 
captive daughter of Zion. (Isaiah Hi. 1, 2.) 

Rejoice ye with Jerusalem ... all ye that love her ; rejoice for joy with 
her, all ye that mourn for her . . . that ye may ... be delighted with 
the abundance of her glory. For ... I will extend peace to her like a 
river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. (Isaiah lxvi. 10, 
11, &c.) 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA MINOR. 327 

And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the 
mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will 
teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths ; for the law shall go 
forth of Zion, and the word of the law from Jerusalem. (Micah iv. 2.) 

Thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies : my house 
shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah i. 16.) 

I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem ; and 
Jerusalem shall be called, A city of truth ; and the mountain of the Lord 
of hosts, the holy mountain. 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet 
old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man 
with his staff in his hand for every age. And the streets of the city shall 
be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof . . . Thus saith the 
Lord of hosts, Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and 
from the west country ; and I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the 
midst of Jerusalem . . . yea, many people and strong nations shall come 
to seek the Lord of Hosts, in Jerusalem ; and to pray before the Lord. 
(Zechariah viii. 3, &c.) 

Patmos, and the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. 

Patmos is a short distance south of Samos, not far from the coast 
below Ephesus. It is nothing but one continued rock, very irregu- 
lar, mountainous, and extremely barren. It is about twelve miles in 
length, six in breadth, and twenty-eight in circumference. Its coast 
is high, and consists of a collection of capes, with excellent bays and 
harbours. The one in use is a deep gulf on the north-east side of the 
island, sheltered by high mountains on every side but one, which is 
protected by a projecting cape. 

The town is situated on a high mountain, rising immediately from 
the sea. The view of the island from the highest points is very sin- 
gular. One looks down upon nothing but mountains and lofty pro- 
montories jutting out into the sea, and separated by deep bays. 

On account of its stern and desolate character, the island was used, 
under the Roman emperors, as a place of banishment; which ac- 
counts for the exile of John thither " for the testimony of Jesus." 
He was here favoured with those visions which are recorded in the 
Apocalypse, and to which the place owes its scriptural interest. The 
external aspect of the island, as viewed from the sea, and the asso- 
ciations connected with it, are forcibly expressed by the Scottish 
Delegation : — 

" We saw the peaks of its two prominent hills, but our course did 
not lie very near it. Still it was intensely interesting to get even a 
glance of that memorable spot where the beloved disciple saw the 
visions of God ; the spot, too, where the Saviour was seen, and his 
voice heard for the last time, until he comes again. John's eye often 
rested on the mountains and the islands among which we were pass- 
ing, and on the shores and waves of this great sea, and often, after 
the vision was passed, these natural features of the place of his exile 
would refresh his spirit, recalling to his mind how he stood on the 



328 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

sand of the sea, and how he had seen that every island fled away, 
and the mountains were not found. " 

Ephesus. 

Gibbon has sketched, with his usual spirit, the fall ot this church 
and the present condition of the seven churches of Asia. " In the 
loss of Ephesus, A. D. 1311, the Christians deplored the fall of the 
first angel, the extinction of the first candlestick of the Revelations. 
The desolation is complete ; and the temple of Diana, or the church 
of Mary, will equally elude the search of the curious traveller. 

" The circus, and the three stately theatres of Laodicea, are now 
peopled with wolves and foxes. Sardis is reduced to a miserable vil- 
lage. The God of Mahomet is invoked in the mosques of Thyatira 
and Pergamos ; and the populousness of Smyrna is supported by the 
foreign trade of Franks and Armenians. 

" Philadelphia alone has been preserved. At a distance from the 
sea, forgotten by the emperors, encompassed on all sides by the 
Turks, her valiant citizens defended their religion and freedom above 
fourscore years, and, at length, capitulated with the proudest of the 
Ottomans. Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia, Phila- 
delphia is still erect — a column in a scene of ruins."* 

Smyrna. 

Smyrna is about forty-eight miles north of Ephesus, at the head 
of a deep bay, forming an excellent harbour, which has from time 
immemorial given it great commercial importance. It stands at the 
foot of a range of mountains, which enclose it on three sides. It has 
survived the catastrophes of war, pestilence, and earthquakes, and is 
jitill one of the largest cities of Asia Minor, containing a population 
of a hundred and twenty or a hundred and thirty thousand. 

On one of the highest summits of the neighbouring heights is an 
old dilapidated castle, but the traces of the ancient city are almost 
entirely effaced. Polycarp, the disciple of John, is supposed to have 
been the " angel " of this church of Smyrna, to whom the Apoca- 
lyptic message was sent. Here he suffered martyrdom not long after. 
When required to revile Christ, the venerable martyr exclaimed : 
u Eighty and six years have I served him, and he has never done me 
evil : How then can I revile my Lord and my Saviour V 

Pergamos. 

Pergamos is sixty-four miles north of Smyrna. It is situated 
eighteen or twenty miles from the sea, on the north bank of the Cai- 
cus, at the base and on the declivity of three high and steep moun- 
tains, which flank the city on three sides. The middle summit is 

* Roman Empire. 



THYATIRA — SARD IS. 829 

the highest, and is crowned by an ancient and desolate castle. The 
town has a population of ten or twelve thousand. 

" The eastern part of the town now lies waste. The other part is 
almost entirely inhabited by Turks, there being only a few poor 
Greek Christians, who have a church. About two centuries and a 
half before the Christian era, Pergamos became the residence of the 
celebrated kings of the family of Attalus, and a seat of literature and 
the arts. King Eumenes, the second of the name, greatly beautified 
the town, and increased the library of Pergamos so considerably that 
the number of volumes amounted to two hundred thousand. As the 
Papyrus shrub had not yet begun to be exported from Egypt, sheep 
and goats' skins, cleaned and prepared for the purpose, were used 
as manuscripts ; and, as the art of preparing them was brought to 
perfection at Pergamos, they, from that circumstance, obtained the 
name of Pergamena, or parchment. The library remained in Per- 
gamos after the kingdom of the Attali had lost its independence, 
until Antony removed it to Egypt, and presented it to Queen Cleo- 
patra. ' I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where 
Satan's seat is ; and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied 
my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful mar- 
tyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.' (Rev. 
ii. 13.)"* 

Thyatira. 

Thyatira is between forty and fifty miles south-east from Perga- 
mos, and twenty-seven from Sardis. It is still a considerable town, 
ill-built and dirty, but containing several thousand inhabitants ; and 
celebrated, as in former times, for the art of dyeing. It carries on 
an active trade with Smyrna in scarlet cloth. Lydia, a seller of pur- 
ple, converted by the x\postle Paul at Philippi (Acts xvi. 14, 15, 
40), was a native of this place. 

The Christian traveller who visits this place in search of the an- 
cient city, is requited only with disappointment and vain regretjs. 
He finds nothing that he can identify with the Apocalytic church. 
The " works, and charity, and service, and faith and patience," of 
this faithful church have no longer any memorial on earth but the 
commendation contained in the epistle to the angel of the church in 
Thyatira. 

Sardis. 

" Sardis (Rev. iii. 4), now called Sart, lies in the incomparably 
beautiful valley of the Pactolus, at the foot of the lofty Tmolus. It 
was once the capital of the kingdom of Croesus, celebrated for his 
wealth. He was conquered by Cyrus. The ruins of the city, buried 

* Biblical Cabinet, pp. 14-16, 

28* 



330 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

for the most part under the sand, bear witness that the Lord * has 
come as a thief ' upon this community. The black tents of the wan- 
dering Turcomans are scattered through the valley ; the whistle of 
the camel-driver now resounds in the palace of Croesus, and the song 
of the lonely thrush is heard from the walls of the old Christian 
church. Schubert found there only two Christian millers, in 1836, 
who spoke nothing but Turkish."* 

A countless number of sepulchral hillocks beyond the Hermus, 
where sleep the dead of three thousand years, heighten the desolate- 
ness of the spot which the multitudes lying there once made busy by 
their living presence and pursuits. The summit of the Tmolus is 
bare, rocky, and snow-clad ; a little lower its heights are covered 
with wood, and at the base there are high ridges of earth, and rocks 
with deep ravines. On one of these eminences, the sides of which 
are almost perpendicular, stood the ancient castle of the governors of 
Lydia. A concealed, narrow, and steep passage, conducts to the 
walls, near to which probably is the place where the Persians ap- 
peared before the town. 

The following graphic description of the scenery of the place by 
moonlight is given by a recent traveller: — 

w Beside me were the cliffs of the Acropolis, which, centuries 
before, the hardy Median scaled, while leading on the conquering 
Persians, whose tents had covered the very spot on which I was re- 
clining. Before me were the vestiges of what had been the palace 
of the gorgeous Croesus : within its walls were once congregated the 
wisest of mankind, Thales, Cleobulus, and Solon. It was here that 
the wretched father mourned alone the mangled corpse of his 
beloved Atys ) it was here that the same humiliated monarch wept 
at the feet of the Persian boy, who wrung from him his kingdom. 
Far in the distance were the gigantic tumuli of the Lydian mo- 
narchs, Candaules, Halyattes, and Gyges; and around them were 
spread those very plains, once trodden by the countless hosts of 
Xerxes when hurrying on to find a sepulchre at Marathon. 

" There were more varied and more vivid remembrances associated 
with the sight of Sardis, than could possibly be attached to any other 
spot of earth ; but all were mingled with a feeling of disgust at the 
littleness of human glory ; all — all had passed away ! There were 
before me the fanes of a dead religion, the tombs of forgotten mo- 
narchs, and the palm-tree that waved in the banquet-hall of kings ; 
while the feeling of desolation was doubly heightened by the calm 
sweet sky above me, which, in its unfading brightness, shone as 
purely now as when it beamed upon the golden dreams of Croesus. "f 

* Biblical Geography, p. 340. 

-j- Emerson, cited in Stuart's Apocalypse, vol. ii. 44. 



philadelphia — laodicea. 331 

Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia was about twenty-five miles south-east from Sardis. 
It still exists as a Turkish town, covering a considerable extent of 
ground, running up the slopes of an irregular hill with four flat 
summits. 

u The country, as viewed from these hills, is extremely magnifi- 
cent — gardens and vineyards lying at the back and sides of the town, 
and before it one of the most extensive and beautiful plains of Asia. 
The town itself, although spacious, is miserably built and kept, the 
dwellings being remarkably mean, and the streets exceedingly filthy. 
Across the summits of the hill behind the town, and the small val- 
leys between them, runs the town-wall, strengthened by circular and 
square towers, and forming also an extensive and long quadrangle in 
the plain below. 

" There are few ruins, but in one part there are still found four 
strong marble pillars, which supported the dome of a church. The 
dome itself has fallen down, but its remains may be observed, and 
it is seen that the arch was of brick. On the sides of the pillars are 
inscriptions, and some architectural ornaments in the form of the 
figures of saints. One solitary pillar of high antiquity has been 
often noticed, as reminding beholders of the remarkable words in the 
Apocalyptic message to the Philadelphian church : c Him that over- 
come th will I make a pillar in the temple of my God : and he shall 
go no more out/ v * 

Laodicea. 

Laodicea lay south-east of Philadelphia, about forty miles east of 
Ephesus, in the south-west part of Phrygia, and near Colosse and 
Hierapolis. The ruins of the ancient town are situated on the flat 
summit of the lowest elevation of the mountain, which terminates 
steeply towards the valley of the Lycus. Many sepulchral monu- 
ments and imposing ruins attest the ancient grandeur of the place. 
It is celebrated for a hot spring with remarkable petrifying qualities. 
Here was a Christian church under the care of Epaphras (Coloss. iv. 
12, 13), and here, according to Eusebius, the Apostle Philip was 
crucified. It was once a large city, as the ruins yet extant sufficiently 
attest. 

" The whole rising ground on which the city stood is one vast 
tumulus of ruins, abandoned entirely to the owl and the fox. This 
city was so situated, as to become the battle-ground of contending 
parties in Asia Minor, first under the "Romans, and then under the 
Turks. It has doubtless suffered also from earthquakes. For cen- 
turies, we know not how many, it has been a perfect mass of ruins. 

* Kitto's Cyclopsedia, vol. ii. 518. 



332 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

.... The name of Christianity is forgotten, and the only sounds 
that disturb the silence of its desertion, are the tones of the Muezzin, 
whose voice from the distant village proclaims the ascendency of 
Mohammed. Laodicea is even more solitary than Ephesus; for the 
latter has the prospect of the rolling sea, or of a whitening sail, to 
enliven its decay : while the former sits in widowed loneliness, its 
walls are grass-grown, its temples desolate, its very name has 
perished. We preferred hastening on, to a further delay in that me- 
lancholy spot, where everything whispered desolation, and where the 
very wind that swept impetuously through the valley, sounded like 
the fiendish laugh of Time exulting over the destruction of man and 
his proudest monuments/ ; * 

* Emerson, cited in Stuart's Apocalypse, vol. ii. 45. 




I. Sinclair's ML Hula 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The Crusades. 

Under this name are designated the religious wars carried on for two 
centuries between the Christians and Mohammedans, at a time when 
diplomatic negotiations were unknown, and the sword decided all 
matters in dispute between one nation and another. The cause was 
ultimately lost by the Christians, who sacrificed in the struggle the 
lives of several millions of their brethren, though their claim was 
originally a reasonable one. In the beginning the Christians de- 
manded only a free pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre ; but after- 
wards the contest was for the possession of Jerusalem. The Cru- 
sades, however, were by no means wars of conquest or of royal 
caprice; man fought against man for some higher, yet mistaken, 
principle. Hence their struggle offers something more honourable 
than the generality of wars, and deserves particular attention on 
account of its influence upon the civilization of Europe. 

As long as the caliphs of Bagdad, and after them the Fatemides 
of Egypt, possessed Palestine, the Christians were not checked in 
the exercise of the religious practice of visiting the Holy Sepulchre, 
which was in harmony with the opinions of that age ; the caliph 
Harun-al Rashid had even the keys of the Holy Sepulchre forwarded 
to Charlemagne as a present. But when the Turks had effected the 
conquest of Palestine, the hospitality of the Arabs gave way to the 
brutality of the new possessors; the Christians were subjected to so 
many vexations, that the whole of Europe re-echoed with the com- 
plaints of the pilgrims, who, instead of returning to their homes 
loaded with holy relics, brought back only wonderful tales of their 
insults and sufferings. 

In consequence of this, Pope Sylvester II. (who died in 1003) 
began to preach a Crusade against the Seljuk Turks for the conquest 
of the Holy Sepulchre. Sixty years afterwards, when only 2,000 
pilgrims had returned to Germany out of 7,000, who had been sent 
to Palestine by their bishops, and the possession of Jerusalem had 
fallen into the hands of the Turkish chief Ortok, this untoward 
event filled Europe with consternation, and a desire to revenge the 
wrongs of the pilgrims. A single spark only was wanting to inflame 
the whole of the western empire to a contest with the sword for that 
privilege which Harun-al-Rashid had acknowledged. Thirty years, 

(333) 



334 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

however, elapsed before Pope Urban II. decreed the first Crusade. 
First at the Council of Piacenza (March, 1095), afterwards at that 
of Clermont in Auvergne (November, 1095), supported by the am- 
bassador of the emperor of Constantinople and numerous powerful 
lords, he proclaimed the sacred war, and appointed the 15th of 
August, 1096, the day of Assumption, for the departure of the 
army. The minds of the Christian warriors had been previously 
excited by the preaching of Peter of Amiens (the Hermit), and by 
the loud complaints of the patriarch of Jerusalem, who, provided 
with letters of credit from the Pope, travelled through Europe, and 
filled all classes of society with enthusiasm for this holy warfare. 
Those who determined to set out for the Holy Land wore on their 
breast the figure of a red cross, and hence the name of Crusaders. 

First Crusade. — The departure of the army having been deferred 
for a year, Peter of Amiens, Walter Habenichts, Count Emiko of 
Leiningen, and the priest Grottschalk, impatient of delay, and 
prompted by religious fanaticism, set out with an immense multitude, 
which is stated at 80,000 or 100,000 men, besides women and 
children, and a crowd of followers. This army, after having ill- 
treated and robbed the Jews in their own country, was reduced to 
one- third of its number in Hungary ; the remainder was cut to pieces 
at Nicaeca, in Asia Minor. 

The East was now threatened with a national migration from the 
West. The bulk of the army was twice as numerous as that of 
their forerunners. It was headed by the noblest knights of those 
times — Godefroy of Bouillon, duke of Lower Lorraine; Baldwin 
his brother, Hugo the Great, brother of the king of France ; Bobert, 
duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror; Baymond of 
St. Gilles, duke of Toulouse ; and Bohemond, prince of Tarentum. 
The general indulgence proclaimed at Clermont, the feudal system 
which led the vassals to join in the sentiments of their sovereigns, 
combined with the religious fanaticism of the many and the inte- 
rested views of the few, created this formidable army. The Pope 
had the address to dispose the heads of the Crusaders to acknowledge 
him formally as the sovereign of all the lands which they intended 
to conquer. The results of this expedition were of great importance. 
After crossing the sea into Asia, the Crusaders took possession of 
Nicaea, in Asia Minor, and Laodicaea and Antiochia in Syria. Bohe- 
mond obtained the principality of Antiochia, Baldwin that of Edessa. 
New Christian principalities arose in Tripolis, Sidon, Tyre, and other 
places. In the mean time Jerusalem was no longer in the posses- 
sion of the Turks. The caliph Mostaali had taken it from the suc- 
cessors of Ortok (1096), and had again united it to Egypt, making 
a rival caliphat. The Crusaders, however, did not allow themselves 
to be stopped by this change of circumstances in their victorious 
inarch ; they advanced with 60 ; 000 men, the relics of their army, 



THE CRUSADES. 335 

against Jerusalem, besieged the town, took it (1099, June 7, July 
15), and preserved it, together with all their conquests, in the great 
battle of Ascalon, against the caliph of Egypt and the Seljuk chief- 
tains. It is said that the number of slain in the conquered town 
amounted to 70,000. The Jews were burnt in their synagogues. 

Consequences of the First Crusade. Kingdom of Jerusalem. — 
Godefroy of Bouillon was elected king of Jerusalem, a new state, 
with a considerable territory. The constitution of this new king- 
dom was regulated by a statute called <Les Assises de Jerusa- 
lem/ Godefroy died one year after his accession to the throne ; his 
brother Baldwin was his successor, who was followed by Baldwin 
II. (1118), Fulk (1131), Baldwin III. (1148), Almerich (1162), 
Baldwin IV. (1173), Baldwin V. (1186), who was followed by 
Guido of Lusignano, who reigned till 1187, when Saladin put an 
end to the Christian kingdom. These kings of Jerusalem were 
compelled to fight with a force of only about 12,000 regular troops 
against the power of two mighty enemies, the Turks and the Fate- 
mide caliph of Egypt. 

Crusaders' Religious Military Orders. — The first Crusade brought 
two military religious orders into existence, — the Knights of Jeru- 
salem, instituted by Baldwin I., and the Knights Templars, estab- 
lished by the joint efforts of Hugo de Payens, Godefroy of St. Ad- 
hemar, and seven other knights. The German Knights of the Cross 
are of later origin. 

Second Crusade. — Though the Franks had extended their posses- 
sions from the mountains of Armenia to the very boundaries of 
Egypt, their strength was too feeble to prevent (under the govern- 
ment of Baldwin III., A. d. 1144) the Atabek of Mosul from taking 
Edessa. The Atabeks were governors of the dynasty of the Sel- 
juks. One of the Atabeks, named Emad-eddin Zenghi, from Mo- 
sul, having made himself independent, transmitted the kingdom to 
his son, Nureddin the Great, who fixed his residence in Aleppo, and 
became an object of terror both to the Christians and to the Flate- 
mides. In the mean time the kingdom of Egypt had passed into 
the hands of Selaheddin (Saladin the Great), an event which took 
place under the following circumstances : — In order to settle a con- 
tention about the succession, Nureddin sent a Kurd, named Shirkah, 
into Egypt. The peacemaker usurped the government for himself, 
and bequeathed it to his brother Ayub's son, who, after the death of 
the last of these Fatemides, seated himself on the throne of these 
rival caliphs ; and conquered Egypt, nominally for the caliphat of 
Bagdad. This son of Ayub was called Saladin : and the dynasty 
of which he became the founder is in history known by the name of 
the Ayubides. After Nureddin's death, Saladin conquered almost 
all Asia Minor, in addition to Tripolis and Tunis, and destroyed the 
Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. 



336 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

After the conquest of Edessa, Bernard of Clairvaux took upon 
himself the office of Peter the Hermit, and preached a second Cru- 
sade ; in consequence of which, two of the greatest Christian chiefs, 
the German emperor Conrad III., and Louis VII., king of France, 
were induced to take the cross (1147). For this undertaking West- 
ern Europe armed 140,000 knights and near a million of foot sol- 
diers, and yet in spite of their mighty superiority, the expedition 
failed. The changes which had taken place in the East had raised 
up a new enemy against the Crusaders in the emperors of Constan- 
tinople, who were less afraid of the peaceful government of the Turks 
in Asia Minor and Egypt, than of the depredation and ravage which 
the passage of a disorderly army, such as that of the Crusaders, 
would cause to their possessions. Hence the artifice and treachery 
of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus prepared the way for the destruc- 
tion of the Christian armies. The German emperor, misled by 
treacherous scouts, lost in the defiles of Taurus the bravest of his 
soldiers ; the relics of his army were almost destroyed at the siege 
of the fortress of Iconium. The troops of the French were also 
defeated by the Sultan of Boom, and annihilated before Damascus, 
a town which the Christians had in vain attempted to take by storm. 
The relics of the two armies united in one body (1149). Thus the 
expedition of the Crusaders in the East was a complete failure. The 
only successful result of this undertaking was the retaking of Lisbon 
from the Moors, which was effected by the Christian navy. 

Situation of the East after the Second Crusade. — Baldwin III., 
however, did not give up his plans in despair. His army was 
increased at intervals by small bodies of Crusaders, who came to his 
assistance from Europe. Nureddin the Great felt more than once 
the power of the Christian warriors. Yet all these advantages were 
frustrated by the discord of the Crusaders, fomented by the rivalship 
of the Templars and the Knights of Jerusalem. Baldwin was suc- 
ceeded by Almeric, called also Amauri, who was followed by Bald- 
win IV., who died likewise soon after the battle of Ramla. After 
his death Guido of Lusignano was completely defeated at the battle 
of Tiberias; he was taken prisoner, together with the grand master 
of the Templars and many noble knights (1187). Saladin took 
possession of all the important places in Palestine, together with Jeru- 
salem and its environs, and put and end to the Christian kingdom 
of Jerusalem, which had existed a century. But Saladin showed 
himself a generous conqueror ; he granted to the Christians the pos- 
session of the Sepulchre of Christ, and allowed the prisoners to 
return home. The patriarch Heraclius, the clergy, the knights, and 
many soldiers returned to their homes, or withdrew to the few towns 
which the Christians still possessed on the coast of Palestine. 

Third Crusade. — Bishop William of Tyre brought this bad news 
to Borne, which it is said caused the premature death of Pope Urban 



THE CRUSADES. 337 

IV. The youth of Europe were again summoned to appear under 
the banner of the cross, not to defend the right of visiting the Holy 
Sepulchre, for Saladin had already granted this privilege to the 
Christians ; but the lives of the bravest knights of Europe were to 
be thrown away on the insane project of again conquering the king- 
dom of Jerusalem. Europe obeyed the summons. The German 
emperor, Frederick Barbarossa ; Philip Augustus, king of France ; 
and Richard Coeur de Lion, king of England, and several German 
princes, enlisted themselves as Crusaders. The Italians appeared in 
arms under the bishops of Ravenna and Pisa. The knights tem- 
plars and those of Jerusalem, who were scattered about Europe, col- 
lected themselves again in strong bodies, and sailed for the Holy 
Land. Fifty vessels left the harbours of Denmark and Friesland, 
and thirty-seven those of Flanders, for Palestine. The expenses of 
the war were supplied by a tithe, called Saladin' s tithe, which the 
pope ordered all Christians, including even the clergy, to pay. The 
emperor, Frederick L, a man of ability and experience, had found 
means to compel the emperor of Constantiople to favour the under- 
taking : he was also engaged in negotiations with the sultan of Ico- 
nium, who, however, betrayed him. By these means, and with a 
force of 600,000 armed men, this expedition might have succeeded ; 
but the Crusaders did not carry on their military operations in one 
body. Several troops of Italian, Greek, and German adventurers, 
who advanced before the great army to place themselves under Con- 
rad of Montferrat, lord of Tyre, and Guido of Lusignano, made an 
unsuccessful attempt to take Ptolemais (St. Jean d'Acre). Fred- 
erick I. met with a premature death by bathing in the waters of the 
river Cydnus, 1190. His son, Frederick of Swabia, who died soon 
after, put himself at the head of the relics of the imperial army, 
but was not able to give a favourable turn to the siege of Acre. At 
length Philip Augustus and Richard Coeur de Lion appeared on the 
battle-field. Richard had already taken and sold to Guido of Lusig- 
nano the island of Cyprus. The kings joined their armies before 
Ptolemais, and their united forces at last succeeded in taking this 
single fortress, after three years' siege and nine battles. 

In consequence of these long and sanguinary struggles the Chris- 
tian army was so reduced, that the kings, despairing of success, 
thought of returning to Europe. Philip Augustus left Palestine 
soon after the capture of Ptolemais. Richard Coeur de Lion followed 
him after a short struggle with Saladin, with whom he made truce, 
and left him in possession of Jerusalem (1192). In the mean time 
Philip Augustus had made an inroad into Richard's dominions of 
Normandy. The mild, benevolent, and generous Saladin the Great 
died 1195, in Damascus, in his fifty-seventh year. During this Cru- 
sade there arose a new military order, called the German Cross 
Knights, whose first grand-master was Henry Walpode. 
29 



338 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Situation of the East after the Third Crusade. — Conrad of Tyre 
had married the sister of Baldwin II., and thus acquired a claim 
upon the throne of Jerusalem. Guido of Lusignano, however, had 
already assumed this title. Conrad died by the hands of assassins. 
His widow afterwards married Guido's brother, and the two brothers 
assumed the name of kings of Jerusalem. One of them, named 
Almeric, died likewise ) and the imaginary crown of Jerusalem was 
the inheritance of John of Brienne, the husband of the daughter of 
Conrad, ki«g of Tyre. (1210). 

Fourth Crusade.— -Isaac Angelos, the emperor of Greece, was 
robbed of his throne, and deprived of his eyes by his own brother 
(1194). His son Alexius fled to Venice to ask for assistance (1203). 
In the mean time the enthusiast Fulk of Neuilly and Pope Innocent 
III. had prepared for a new Crusade, which was headed by several 
Italian and French noblemen, such as Thiebald of Champagne, 
Count Boniface of Montferrat, Count Baldwin of Flanders, and 
Simon of Montfort. The doge of Venice, Arrigo Dandolo, induced 
the Crusaders to take the town of Zara in Dalmatia for the republic 
of Venice. The Crusadars, probably at the instigation of Dandolo, 
instead of waging war against the infidels, took an active part in the 
affairs of Greece, conquered Constantinople, and, after having elevated 
to the throne or deposed several emperors, at length put the imperial 
crown upon the head of Baldwin of Flanders, giving him the fourth 
part of the empire, and dividing the rest among themselves. 

This behaviour drew upon them the popish interdict, which, how- 
ever, was of no long duration. Pope Innocent absolved them. Thus 
the chiefs of the Franks ruled for about fifty years over the Empire 
of the East, around which arose three new Greek principalities, 
Nicaea, Trebizond, and the despotat of iEtolia. This Crusade was a 
complete failure. 

After the insignificant Crusade of Andrew, king of Hungary 
(1217), John, king of Jerusalem, led his army against Egypt (a 
plan which was certainly calculated to assure the conquest of the 
Holy Land), and took Damietta. The sultan, Melek Kamel, fearing 
the consequences of a war, proposed peace and an exchange of Jeru- 
salem for Damietta. The proud conqueror refused the offer, and 
proceeded without caution along the Nile towards Cairo. The sultan 
ordered the dikes of the Nile to be removed. The waters destroyed 
a large portion of the Christian army, freed Damietta, and secured 
cessation from war for eight years, and the retreat of the relics of 
the Crusaders (1221). 

Frederick II. of Hohenstauffen, the greatest of the German empe- 
rors, who excelled his contemporaries in wisdom, generosity, and 
manners, the husband of Yolanta, the daughter of John of Jerusalem, 
had pledged himself at his coronation (1215) to a Crusade. The 
affairs of the state, however, retarded for twelve years the fulfilment 



THE CRUSADES. 339 

of his promises. At length, yielding to the pressing invitations of 
Pope Gregory IX, he sailed from Brindisi for Palestine ; but after 
a few days 7 voyage, sickness compelled him to return to Otranto. 
This drew upon him the anger of the pontiff, who laid him under an 
interdict. Perhaps this was but a plausible pretext for humiliating 
the hated house of Hohenstauffen. Though under the pope's edict, 
the emperor again appeared the next year in arms in the Holy Land, 
which gave the pope an opportunity of allowing his enemies to invade 
the emperor's Italian dominions. Even John of Jerusalem was 
faithless and audacious enough to occupy by force the kingdom of 
Naples. 

The sultan, Melek Kamel, set no great value upon the possession 
of Jerusalem, and was willing to exchange it for an alliance with 
Frederick against his enemy, the sultan of Damascus. Frederick, 
pressed by his Italian affairs, profited by the good intentions of the 
sultan, and obtained from him the possession of the capital of Pales- 
tine. After putting upon his head the crown, he marched homewards 
with his army, and his approach to the Vatican was enough to de- 
termine the pope to take away the interdict. 

Situation of the East after the Fifth Crusade. — The Kho-warzm- 
shah Turks, pressed by the Mongols, who soon after put an end to 
the caliphat, rushed into the Holy Land, and defeated, near Gaza, 
the whole of the Christian forces (1244). Jerusalem, together with 
Palestine, became a possession of the sultan of Egypt, as a member 
of their alliance. 

Sixth Crusade. — Louis IX., king of France, called St. Louis, 
undertook, in the year 1249, a new Crusade. He followed the plan 
adopted by John of Jerusalem, and conducted his army against 
Egypt, 

This land, however, seems to have offered few advantages to the 
Christian conquerors. Louis, after having easily obtained possession 
of Damietta, marched along the Nile towards Cairo; but, chiefly 
through the imprudence of his brother d'Artois, he lost the battle 
of Mansura, and with it the bulk of his army. D'Artois and many 
of the bravest knights were slain; hunger and sickness compelled 
the remainder to retreat. Before they were able to reach Damietta, 
they saw themselves overtaken and surrounded by the sultan, who 
made the king prisoner, together with the relics of his army. A 
truce was agreed on, in which the Christians were compelled to give 
up Damietta, and to pay a ransom of 800,000 Byzantine guilders. 
The Mamluks, a guard composed of Turkoman youth, who had 
gradually increased in power, dissatisfied with the generosity of the 
sultan towards the Christians, murdered him, and placed Ibek, their 
commander, upon the throne of the caliphs of Egypt. 

Had Louis possessed fewer personal qualifications and less courage, 



340 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

he would never have obtained his liberty ; yet these barbarians al- 
lowed him to depart : and there are some historians who pretend 
that if Louis had acted with more cunning he could even have 
obtained from the Mamluks the object of his undertaking. 

Though Louis, upon his return to France, found his kingdom in 
a disordered state, on account of the misery and waste caused by the 
revolutionary movements of bands of a fanatic peasantry, called 
Pastorells, he could not give up the idea of reconquering Jerusalem, 
and a few years after his return he prepared a new Crusade. This 
Crusade, however, did not extend beyond Tunis, where Louis ex- 
pected to make converts of the princes. This undertaking failed 
likewise; and Louis found his grave on the shores of Africa (1270). 

Seventh Crusade. — England was the pioneer of the seventh and 
last Crusade. While Louis was still in Tunis, Edward, the grand- 
child of Richard Cceur de Lion, prepared a new Crusade. After the 
death of Louis he appeared before Tunis; but soon left Africa for 
Palestine, to fight against the Saracens. Not being able to accom- 
plish his plans he returned home, and was the last among the 
Christian princes who dreamed of conquering the Holy Land. 

Situation of the East after the last Crusade. — A few towns 
situated on or near the coast, Antioch, Ptolemais, and Tripolis, were 
still in possession of the Christians, and were chiefly defended by 
the Templars and other 'military orders. The dispute about the 
kingdom of Jerusalem still continued between the descendants of the 
Baldwins. At length Ptolemais fell (1291) ; the other towns were 
either abandoned or taken; the knights fled to Europe, and the 
whole of Palestine and Syria again became a possession of the sultans 
of Egypt, and obeyed the laws of Mohammed. In short, the labour 
of two centuries was lost ; and we may regard this epoch as a kind 
of Oriental restoration. 

Crusades in the Western Empire. — We have already observed 
how Emiko of Leinengen and the priest Gottschalk had persecuted 
the Jews in the Rhenish provinces in their expedition towards the 
East. This was called a Crusade against the Jews. The banner of 
the cross was likewise displayed in the wars against the Moors in 
Spain, against the heathens in Prussia and Lithuania, against the 
Waldenses and Albigenses in France, against all kinds of heretics, 
even against the house of Hohenstauffen when placed under the 
popish interdict; which wars, unjust in their principle, were ren- 
dered by fanaticism still more terrible in their consequences. 

Object of the Eastern Crusade. — The object of the first Crusade 
was to obtain possession of the Holy Sepulchre for the Christians in 
Europe : and, secondly, to protect the Christians in the East against 
the persecutions of the Turks. The first object might, perhaps, 
have been obtained by treaties; the second, however, could not be 



THE CRUSADES. 841 

secured as long as the Turks possessed Palestine : and hence the 
conquest of this country became the principal object of the Crusaders. 
This conquest might have been in favour of the lawful lords of 
Palestine, the caliphs ; but the Franks, misled by fanaticism, pre- 
ferred to take for themselves that which by right belonged to others, 
and by a just retribution lost the fruits of two hundred years' struggle. 
On- the other hand, if they had been guided by moderation, they 
might have easily obtained from the Caliph Mastaali the possession 
of Jerusalem by treaties. 

The object of the second Crusade was from the very beginning 
inconsiderate. The possession of Jerusalem was not in danger ; 
nothing had happened to cause a war except the taking of Edessa. 

The third Crusade was undertaken with the view of reconquering 
the Holy Land. This war may appear just to those who think that 
the acquisition by the sword and the possession of a few years make 
a good title ; or even to those who, misled by diplomatic sophistry, 
fancy that crowns and men may be inherited like goods and chattels. 
The Crusade of Count Baldwin was an infamous intrigue and mysti- 
fication of the Doge Arrigo Dandolo. The Crusade of the king of 
Jerusalem was an idle attempt to change his imaginary crown into 
a real one by taking the town of Egypt. Neither of these expeditions 
deserves the name of Crusade, a name that might be given with 
more propriety to the fourth Crusade, undertaken by Andrew, king 
of Hungary. 

The hatred of the pope against the house of Hohenstauffen was 
the cause of the fifth Crusade. In spite of the impure motives of 
this war, however, the emperor, by his prudent conduct, succeeded 
in obtaining the possession of Jerusalem without the sacrifice of time 
or blood. 

The sixth and seventh Crusades were undertaken with the object 
of regaining possession of Palestine, which bad been lost in the 
battle of Gaza. The chief reason why so many powerful expeditions 
turned out signal failures may be sought in the rivalry of the kuights 
of the same country, and the jealousy of their respective kings; 
hence there was no unity of action, no discipline, no commander-in- 
chief, and their numerous armies were scattered and defeated like 
sheep without a shepherd. 

Consequences of the Crusades. — Though the Crusades sacrificed 
the lives of several millions of Christians, among whom were many 
women and children, and though they were one of the causes which 
contributed to give the popes such an overwhelming power in 
Europe — although they were instrumental in bringing about the 
religious wars or persecutions which afflicted Europe, and also in 
weakening the power of the eastern princes, and rendering them 
unable to withstand the attacks of the Mongols — it cannot be denied 
that the Crusades were accompanied by many beneficial effects. 



342 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

Such, for instance, were the increased activity of political life in 
Europe, the union of different nations in a common object, the con- 
sequent dissipation of international strifes and prejudices, and a ten- 
dency to a more humane reciprocal intercourse; the acquisition of 
scientific knowledge, improvement in manners and habits, the break- 
ing up of the feudal system by the sale of estates to the merchants 
in exchange for the money required by the nobles for their military 
accoutrements and provisions ; the increased wealth of the mercantile 
towns in Italy, which led to the revival of the fine arts and the sci- 
ences in that country, and finally, the diffusion of more liberal modes 
of thinking in matters of government and religion, occasioned by the 
intercourse of the western and eastern nations. 

Before the Crusades the heavy clouds of religious fanaticism hung 
over Europe, and mankind bore quietly the chains imposed upon 
their minds by the authority of the priesthood. But the knight and 
the soldier who returned from the Crusades, after having a thousand 
times experienced the generosity and hospitality of the Musselmans, 
brought home the singular tale, that in those remote countries there 
existed a race of men noble-minded and kind, though professing a 
creed different from that of their invaders. 

Blind submission to the authority of the priesthood was exchanged 
for meditation and independent reflection. 

The Inquisition, which was instituted about this time, proves that 
there were men who were deemed fit subjects for an inquisition, that 
is, heretics and philosophers. One or two centuries after the Cru- 
sades, Europe was filled with religious sceptics, as far as regarded the 
infallibility of the church, some of whom even dared to be religious 
reformers, such as Huss, Wickliffe, and others. At length Luther 
appeared, who, by his theses and his translation of the Bible, shook 
the very pillars of the Vatican.* 

* Abridged from the 'Penny Cyclopaedia.' 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Climate and Naturae Productions of Syria. 

Climate. — Syria, though situated within the temperate zone, ex- 
hibits all the climates of the globe. The lower part of the Ghor, 
which is more than 1,000 feet below the sea-level, and is enclosed 
by high mountains, probably has a mean annual temperature not 
lower than that of the equator; whilst the most elevated parts, 
Mount Libanus and of the Jebel es Sheikh, are covered with snow 
all the year round. But no regular meteorological observations have 
been made in any part of Syria. The country is subject to very 
violent earthquakes. In 1837 the southern districts were laid 
waste by a very violent earthquake, by which several towns were 
destroyed. At other times the northern districts have suffered. 
In the country surrounding the Dead Sea there are many traces of 
volcanic action. Hot springs occur in numerous places; and in 
others there are depressions which have the appearance of craters. 

Productions. — Wheat and barley are the principal kinds of grain 
which are cultivated, except in those parts which have too arid a soil, 
where dhurra is almost exclusively grown. Three kinds of dhurra 
are grown, dhurra gaydi, dhurra sayfeh, and dhurra dimiri. Spelt 
is much cultivated in the southern district ; but very little oats, and 
no rye. Schubert, however, found wheat, barley, and rye growing 
wild in the plain of Ibn Omer; and hence he concludes that rye 
must formerly have been an object of cultivation in these parts. 
Rice is only cultivated on the banks of the Bahr el Hould and in 
the Wady Seissaboun. The most common pulse, peas, lentiles, 
the Egyptian bean, the gishrungayga, and the gilban. Of other 
vegetables, three kinds of hibiscus are grown; also artichokes, 
melons, especially water-melons, cucumbers, and pumpkins. Pota- 
toes are only cultivated in some valleys of Mount Libanus, and cap- 
sicum in the southern districts. The cultivation of cotton is very 
general, especially in the northern provinces, where it is of good 
quality. Hemp is much cultivated in some parts; but flax ooly in 
a few places. Madder is grown in Central and Northern Syria; 
and indigo in the Ghor and on the eastern banks of the Dead 
Sea, but only to a small extent. The cultivation of sesamum 
and of castor-oil plant is much attended to : the oil of both is gene- 

(343) 



344 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

rally used for burning. Tobacco is grown in many places ; and in 
some, especially along the sea north of Akka, it is of excellent 
quality, and furnishes a considerable article of export to Constanti- 
nople and other countries. 

The cultivation of fruit-trees is much attended to. Some kinds 
cover large tracts, as the fig on the northern portion of the table-land 
of Judea, the olive along the coast of the* Mediterranean and in the 
neighbourhood of Damascus, the mulberry-tree on the western decli- 
vity of Mount Libanus, and the pistachia-tree on the stony hills sur- 
rounding Aleppo. Vineyards are numerous in the more mountain- 
ous districts, and also on the table-land of Judea. The wine made 
on Mount Libanus is of excellent quality. Dried grapes and debs 
are considerable articles of internal commerce. Other fruits are 
almonds, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, oranges, lemons, apples, 
and pears. Dates are at present found in abundance only in the 
plain of Akka: at Jericho, the dates of which were formerly 
celebrated, only a few trees occur. The most remarkable trees, 
which are partly cultivated and partly grow wild, are the syca- 
more, the carob-tree, the Indian fig, the mulberry, and the pistachia- 
tree. 

The forests on the mountains consist of cedars, firs, and pines. 
Those of the table-lands chiefly consist of several kinds of oak, which 
do not attain a large size. They produce, however, the best galls 
that are known. There are also the azerol, the walnut, the straw- 
berry-tree, the laurel, terebinth, and juniper. Scammony and 
sumach are gathered in the forests of Mount Libanus as articles of 
export. 

The domestic animals which Syria has in common with England 
are horses, cattle, asses, sheep, and goats. Few horses are kept by 
the agricultural population ; but the wandering tribes, the Arabs, 
Turkmans, and Kurds, pay great attention to the breed of horses. 
The breeds of the Arabs and that of the Turkmans are different: 
that of the Kurds is a mixture of the two. The Arabian horses are 
noted for beauty and speed. The number of cattle is comparatively 
small, and, except in a few places, of small size. The asses and 
mules are of a large breed, and they serve as substitutes for horses 
in the transport of goods. Sheep and goats are very numerous. 
In many parts, especially in Northern Syria, that species is kept 
which has the large broad tail. There are camels and buffaloes. 
Two breeds of camels are distinguished. Those of the Turkmans, 
which pasture at the foot of the Almah Dagh, are larger, and 
generally carry a weight of 800 pounds ; while the Arabian camels 
carry only 600 pounds. But the Arabian camels bear heat and 
thirst better than the Turkman camels, and are content with 
coarser food. 



CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OF SYRIA. 345 

Beasts of prey are not numerous, with the exception of jackals, 
foxes, and hyaenas, which are frequent in some parts of the desert 
mountains. There are bears on Mount Libanus and Anti-Libanus. 
Wolves are only found in the forests of Almah Dagh. Wild boars 
are very numerous in many parts. Deers are met with on the 
Almah Dagh and near Mount Tor; and in the desert parts are 
several kinds of antelopes. In the mountains of the Belka, the bou- 
quetin of the Swiss and Tyrol Alps (Capra ibex) is said to be very 
numerous. Hares and porcupines abound ) and the Dipus jerboa is 
common in the southern deserts. There are several varieties of 
eagles. Partridges and pigeons abound in many parts, especially on 
Mount Libanus. In the mountains east of the Southern Valley 
there are immense numbers of a bird called katta. Several kinds 
of fish and shell-fish are found in the Mediterranean, but not in 
large quantity ; but a considerable fishery is carried on in an inland 
lake of the Ghab, where a fish, called black fish, is so abundant, that 
annually, between October and January, a great quantity is taken, 
cured, and sent to remote places. This fish is from five to eight feet 
long. Fish are also very abundant in the Bohaire. In the Medi- 
terranean is the Janthina fragilis, or common purple shell-fish. The 
tortoise occurs frequently on the table-land of Judea, and turtles in 
the Barrada, or river of Damascus. None of the snakes are con- 
sidered to be poisonous. Bees are very abundant on Mount Libanus, 
whence wax and honey are exported. The rearing of silk- worms is 
carried on to a great extent on the mountainous tracts near the 
coast ; and silk constitutes the most important article of export from 
Syria. The locusts frequently lay waste the fields ; the Arabs eat 
them, and salt them for food. There are no metals found in Syria 
except iron, which is worked in the district west of Beirout, where 
also coal has lately been discovered. Burckhardt found iron and 
quicksilver at the western base of Jebel es Sheikh. Salt is got 
from the lake, called El Sabkh, and also from the sea-water of 
the Mediterranean. In the Tyh Beni Israel, and at the south- 
ern extremity of the Dead Sea, there are mountains almost en- 
tirely composed of rock-salt. Bitumen, or asphaltum, is collected 
on the west shores of the Dead Sea, and constitutes an article of 
export. . 

Inhabitants. — The population of Syria consists of agricultural 
and nomadic tribes. Nearly all the " Fellahs," as the agricultural 
population of Syria is called, belong to one race, resembling in the 
structure of their body the Beduin Arabs, and speaking also the 
Arabic language. There is, indeed, as Burckhardt observes, a dif- 
ference between the Fellahs and the Beduins, which is easily observed 
in the adults of both nations. The Arabs are generally of short 
stature, with a thin face, scanty beard, and brilliant black eyes ; the 
Fellahs are taller and stouter, with a strong beard and a less pierc- 



346 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

ing eye. But this difference seems chiefly to arise from their mode 
of life, for the youth of both nations, at the age of sixteen, have 
precisely the same appearance. The Fellahs, however, are divided, 
according to their religion, into Christians, Jews, and Turks. Under 
the last name all the Mohammedans are comprehended : the greater 
part of them are descendants of Arabs, true Turks being only found 
in Northern Syria, and few in number. The Jews are numerous in 
Southern Syria, west of the southern valley; but they are rarely 
found east of that valley, or in the other parts of the province. 
They are most numerous in the vicinity of the five holy cities, Jeru- 
salem, Tabarieh, Safed, Nablous, and Khalil (Hebron). The Chris- 
tians are found everywhere. Even in the Haouram the Christians 
constitute one-fourth of the agricultural population. They are either 
of the Greek church or Roman Catholics. The Maronites, who 
have joined the Greek Latin church, constitute a peculiar sect : they 
live exclusively on the western declivity of Mount Libanus, in the 
Kesrouan, and are a very industrious people. Among the Moham- 
medans is a sect called Metawelis, which is distinguished by fanati- 
cism and intolerance; they are most numerous in the Bekaa and 
the Belad el Baalbec. 

There are also three religious sects in Syria, which are neither 
Christians nor Mohammedans, the Druses, Anzeyrys or JNossairies, 
and the Ismanlies. The most powerful of them are the Druses, 
who, indeed, pay tribute to the Turkish pashas, but otherwise are 
independent, and their chief may be considered as the master of the 
whole of Mount Libanus, with the adjacent districts of the Bekaa. 
The Anzeyries, or Nossairies, inhabit the mountain region which has 
received its name from them, and which lies between the lower 
course of the Aazy and the Mediterranean. They are likewise an 
industrious people. The Ismanlies are few in number, and inhabit 
some villages in the mountains of the Anzeyry. They are consi- 
dered to be a remnant of the Assassins and Ismaelites. Nothing is 
known of the religious tenets of these people. 

If by the term Nomadic tribes we understand not only people 
who exclusively live on the produce of their herds and flocks, but 
also those who cultivate some small spots of ground, and yet 
principally derive their subsistence from their cattle, and conse- 
quently are obliged to change their abode, we may say that there is 
hardly any tract of considerable extent in Syria without nomadic 
people on it. This is the effect of the character of the country, in 
which two districts are generally found contiguous to one another, 
one of which affords pasture in winter and is barren in summer; 
while the other yields pasture in summer, and cannot be pastured 
with advantage in winter. This obliges those who have large herds 
or flocks to a continual change of abode. But this state of things is 
very destructive to agriculture; under a weak and distracted govern- 



CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OP SYRIA. 347 

merit like the Turkish of the present day. Nomadic tribes are diffi- 
cult to keep in order, and they soon inspire the peaceful husband- 
man with such a dread of their depredations, that he gladly pays 
them a tribute on condition of their not laying waste his fields and 
carrying off his cattle. Burckhardt observes that the tax which the 
agriculturists of the Haouran pay to the nomadic tribes dispersed 
among them is much heavier than all the taxes imposed by govern- 
ment and their own chiefs ; and this is the reason why so fertile a 
country, which yields twenty-five fold, is nearly a desert. These 
hurtful effects are less felt in those parts where the nomadic portion 
of the inhabitants is not so great; but even on the table-land of 
Judea the peasants are generally tributary to the emirs of the no- 
madic Arabs. There is probably no part of Syria in which this 
state of things does not exist, except in the country of the Druses, 
and in the immediate neighbourhood of some great towns, such as 
Damascus Aleppo, and Hamah. 

There appears to be at present only one tribe of Beduins in Syria 
who never cultivate the ground, but who live exclusively on the 
produce of their herds of camels, sheep, and goats. This is the' 
Aenere, who wander about in the Syrian and Arabian deserts, from 
28° to 36° N. lat., and pass the winter there, which lasts from the 
beginning of October to the end of April, when the rains cause grass 
and herbs to spring up in maDy parts of the deserts, on which their 
flocks feed ; but they enter the limits of Syria at the beginning of 
May, and remain there till after September. At this time they 
approach the caravan road leading from Aleppo to Damascus, and 
the Hadji, road leading from Damascus to Mecca. They come to 
these places for a twofold purpose, — water and pasture for the sum- 
mer, and to exchange their cattle for corn as winter provision. If 
they are at peace with the pasha of Damascus, they encamp quietly 
among the villages near the springs or wells. 

The other Arabian tribes generally cultivate some small part of 
the district in which they wander about with their herds, and which 
they consider as their property, obliging the cultivators to pay a 
heavy tax for permission to cultivate it, and for protection against 
the individuals belonging to their tribe. 

The Turkmans and the Kurds are in almost exclusive possession 
of the elevated range of the Alma Dagh and the tracts at its base. 
The eastern districts of these mountains are occuped by the Kurds, 
and the western by the Turkmans. It is not possible to fix a boun- 
dary between them, as in many parts both nations have settled 
together. They descend from the mountains in winter, and spread 
over the plains even to a considerable distance south of Aleppo. 
Some small tribes of both nations, the Turkmans and Kurds, have 
even settled on the northern districts of Mount Libanus, where they 
are in contact with the Arabic tribes who pasture in the Bekaa. 



348 SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY. 

The Turkmans are not different from the Turks, and they are the 
stock from which the Turks sprung. The most powerful tribes of 
the Turkmans still inhabit those parts where the Turkish empire 
was formed in the fourteenth century, the elevated table-lands of 
Anatolia. In the structure of their body, and in their language, 
there is very little difference between them, except what is the effect 
of a different mode of life and of a separation of four centuries. 
Burckhardt was struck with the elegance and regularity of the fea- 
tures of the women of the Turkmans : he considers their com- 
plexion as fair as that of European women. That tribe of Turk- 
mans which is settled on the Alma Dagh and in its vicinity, is called 
Kyhanlu. It is not more than forty or fifty years since they applied 
to agriculture : in the level parts of their country they cultivate 
wheat, barley, and several kinds of pulse. The cultivation is not 
carried on by the Turkmans themselves, but by peasants or fellahs, 
who are either straggling Kurds, or the peasants who belong to some 
abandoned villages. The Turkmans remain with their herds in the 
Umk from the end of September to the middle of April, when they 
go to the mountains, and by degrees advance as far north as Al 
Bostan and Gurun, and the mountain-ranges in the vicinity of these 
places, which are more than 100 miles from the parts where they 
pass the winter. They have horses, camels, sheep and goats, and a 
few cattle. Their women are very industrious. They make tent- 
coverings of goats' hair, and woollen carpets, which are inferior only 
to those of Persian manufacture. They have also made great pro- 
gress in the art of dyeing. Their colours are very beautiful, and they 
employ indigo and cochineal, which they purchase at Aleppo. The 
brilliant green which they give to the wool is much admired, and is 
produced from some herbs which are gathered in the mountains in 
summer.- 

The Kurds who inhabit Syria are evidently a tribe that emigrated 
long since from Kurdistan to the mountain-range which traverses 
Western Asia west of the lake of Van, between whence they have 
gradually spread to the Alma Dagh. At present they are almost 
exclusively in possession of the western portion of that range, 
from which they descend in summer to the plains east of Aleppo. 
There are also some Kurds in the northern districts of Mount Liba- 
nus, where however they do not seem to be permanently settled. 
Burckhardt observes that these Kurds bring annually into Syria 
from 20,000 to 30,000 sheep from the mountains of Kurdistan, as 
Syria does not produce a sufficient number of sheep for the consump- 
tion of the inhabitants. After visiting the large towns with their 
flocks, they take to Mount Libanus those which they have been 
unable to sell, in order to pasture them there until they find an 
opportunity of selling them in that mountainous district, where few 
sheep are kept by the Druses and Maronites. The Kurds, who 



CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS OP SYRIA. 349 

inhabit the Alma Dagh, cannot properly be called a nomadic nation, 
as most of them live in villages, are stationary, and occupied in 
agriculture and rearing of cattle ; but there is still a considerable 
number of families that change their abode according to the seasons, 
in order to procure pasture for their cattle. The Kurds have a 
language of their own, which, according to Burckhardt, is a mixture 
of Persian, Armenian, and Turkish. 

Syria is divided into five pashalicks, the largest of which is that 
of Damascus, which includes the greater part of the Holy Land. 
The principal towns with their population, are Damascus, 110,000; 
Aleppo, 65,000; Hamath; Jerusalem, 11,500; Tripoli; Beyrout, 
12,000; Acre: Gaza. 



SO 



INDEX. 



Aaron, death of, 74. 

Abarim, mountains of, 97. 

Abel of Beth-Maachah, 198. 

Abraham, dwelling-places of, 29-32 ; his Call, 

29; defeats Chedorlaonier, 30; trial of his 

faith, 31; his death, 32. 
Absalom, rebellion of, 197. 
Acacia, the, 145. 
Acre, or Akka, plain of, 99. 
Adonis, the river, 206. 
Adullam, cave of, 195. 
Ahaz, king of Judah, 244. 
Ai, capture of, 154. 
Ain Jidy, plain of, 120. 
Akabah, gulf of, 70. 
Amalekites, the, 79. 
Amaziah, king of Judah, 225. 
Ammonites, the, 78. 
Anathoth, 171. 
Animals, domestic, of Palestine, 147; wild, 

148. 
Antioch, city of, 307. 
Aphaca, ruins of, 203. 
Aphek, places of this name, 183. 
Apostles, Acts of the, 304. 
Apples of Sodom, 146. 
Arabah, valley of, 70. 
Arabia, situation and dimensions of, 49 ; its 

ancient divisions, 49 ; Arabia Petrea, 49 ; 

Arabia Deserta, 50 ; Arabia Felix, 50. 
Arabian Desert, 51, 57. 
Ararat, mount, 17. 
Ark, locality of its rest, 17 ; its removal to 

the city of David, 195. 
Arnon, the river, 110 ; Lieut. Lynch's account 

of its embouchure, 111. 
Asa, king of Judah, 218. 
Ashdod, city of, 183. 
Asher, tribe of, and their portion, 169. 
Asia Minor, peninsula of, 295 ; seven churches 

of, 327. 
Askelon, 180. 
Asphaltites, lake, 118. 
Ass, the wild, 150. 

Assyria, compared to the cedar of Leba- 
non, 143. 
Assyria, empire of, 231 ; the province of, 231 ; 

places in, 231 ; its history. 233 ; Layard's 

discoveries, 234. 
Athens, 312. 
Azariah, king of Judah, 228. 

Baal-Gad (now Baalbek), ruins of, described 

by Dr. Wilson, 163. 
Baasha, king of Israel, 218. 
Babel, tower of, 26. 
Babylonia, city of, 242, 262. 



Babylonian empire, description of, 241; its 
divisions, 241 ; inhabitants, 242; commer- 
cial importance, 242; places in, 243. 

Barnabas, St., missionary tours of, 308, 309. 

Battle of the kings, 30. 

Beersheba, notice of, 31 ; well of, 129. 

Belus, the stream, 111. 

Benjamin, tribe and territory of, 166. 

Berachah, valley of, 223. 

Berytus (Beirout), 206. 

Besor, the brook, 113. 

Beth-arbel, fortress of, 248. 

Bethel, 34 ; associations of, 34. 

Bethesda, pool of, 127. 

Beth-horon, 157. 

Bethlehem, 187 ; Dr. Olin's description of the 
city and environs, 188. 

Beth-shemesh, ruins of, 171; obelisk at, 260. 

Birds of Palestine, 151. 

Birs-Nimrud, account of, 27. 

Bitumen, beds of, near Hasbeiya, 131. 

Bozrah, 262. 

Burial-places, 131. 

Csesarea, capital of Judea, 304 ; its historical 
recollections, 305. 

Caesarea Philippi, 287. 

Callirohoe, warm-springs of, 123. 

Cain eh, remains of, 247. 

Canaan, invasion of, 153; conquest of the 
southern portion, 158; of the northern 
portion, 159 ; division of, amongst the 
tribes of Israel, 165 ; and see Palestine. 

Canaanites, extermination of, 175. 

Capernaum, 280. 

Captivity of Judah, 253 ; land of, 256. 

Captivity of the Israelites, 246. 

Carmel, ruins of, 191. 

Carmel, mount, 92, 205, 221. 

Caves, uses to which applied, 131. 

Cedar of Lebanon, description of, by Dr. 
Wilson, 143. 

Cereals, the, 137. 

Cbaldaea, 241. 

Chebur, the river, 256. 

Cherith, the brook, 113. 

Christ, duration of his public ministry, 272 ; 
events connected with his birth and child- 
hood, 273; date of his nativity, 276; an- 
nouncement and introduction of his min- 
istry, 278; his first passover, 279; his 
second passover, 281; bis third passover, 
285; his departure from Galilee, 287; his 
public entry into Jerusalem, 290 ; his 
fourth passover, and passion, 291 ; Lamar- 
tine's sketch of the scene of the agony, 
292 ; the crucifixion, 293 ; the resurrection, 



(351) 



352 



INDEX. 



Dr. Robinson's account of, 294; Christ's 
final interview with his disciples, 296 ; his 
ascension, 297. 

Chub, people and city, 263. 

Cilicia, 306. 

Civilization before the Flood, 16. 

Climate of Palestine, 134. 

Coche, in Babylonia, 243. 

Ccele-Syria, 200 ; places in, 200. 

Colosse, town of, 322. 

Commissaries of Solomon, districts of, 212. 

Corinth, city of, 313. 

Cotton, 142. 

Creation, geological theory of, 13. 

Crusades, the origin of, 333; the first cru- 
sade, 334 ; its consequences, 335 ; military 
orders, 335; second crusade, 335; its fail- 
ure, 336 ; third crusade, 337 ; conquest of 
Ptolemais (Acre), 337 ; fourth crusade, 338 ; 
Constantinople taken, 338 ; crusade under 
Frederick II., surrender of Jerusalem to 
the emperor, 338; its recapture by the 
Turks, 339; sixth crusade, 339; conquest 
and restoration of Damietta, 339 ; seventh 
crusade, 340; crusades in the Western 
Empire, 340 ; object of the Eastern cru- 
sades, 340 ; causes of their failure, 341 ; their 
consequences, 341. 

Ctesiphon, capital of the Parthian empire, 
232. 

Cunaxa, in Babylonia, 243. 

Cyprus, island of, 307. 

Dan, tribe and territory of, 166. 

Daniel the prophet, 264. 

Danites, idolatry of, 176. 

Damascus, 200; Lamartine's description of, 
201; its rivers, 202; its great antiquity, 
202. 

Date-palm, the, and its fruit, 140. 

David anointed by Samuel, 189 ; his combat 
with Goliath, 189; his flight from Saul, 
189 ; his reign at Hebron, 194; takes Jeru- 
salem, 194; his conquests, 195. 

Day, uncertain meaning of, 13. 

Dead Sea, its various names, 117; its divi- 
sions, 118 ; Arab tradition concerning, 118 ; 
its coasts, 119 ; its streams, 120 ; moun- 
tains, 120; tributaries, 123; density of its 
waters, 124; injurious to health, 125; ana- 
lysis of its waters, 125. 

Dor, ruins of, 212. 

Earthquakes, notices of, 132. 

Eastern mountains of Palestine, 99. 

Ebal, mount, 92, 155. 

Eden, its site and signification, 14. 

Edomites, the, 79. 

Egypt, its boundaries, 37 ; soil and climate, 

37 ; antiquities, 46. 
Egyptians, origin and history of, 43. 
Ekron, city of, 184. 
Elah, valley of, 189. 
Eli the high-priest, 181. 
Elijah the prophet, 220; last days of, 223. 
Elisha the prophet, acts of, 223; his death, 

224. 
Elisha, fountain of, 129. 
En-gedi, wilderness of, 96, 191. 
Enoch, city of, 15. 
En-Rogel, well of, 211. 
Ephesus, the temple of Diana, 313, 328. 
Ephraim, mountains of, 93 ; wood of, 197. 



Ephraim, tribe and territory of, 169. 

Ephraim, village of, 288. 

Epirus, 299. 

Esdraelon, plain of, 99; its names, 99; Dr. 

Robinson's summary of actions fought in, 

100. 
Eshcol, the brook, 113. 
Es-Sufah, pass of, 96. 
Estemoa, village of, 171. 
Esther, book of, 269. 
Etham, desert of, 57. 
Ethiopian invaders of Judea, who ? 218. 
Euphrates, the, 14. 
Ezekiel the prophet, 263. 
Ezra the prophet, 265. 

Feshkah, El, the spring, 119. 
Field-mice, their ravages, 150. 
Fig, the, 139. 
Finger mountain, 17. 
Flax, 142. 

Flood, traditions of the, 19. 
Forest-trees of Palestine, 142. 
Fortifications, military, 217. 
Frederick Barbarossa, 337. 
Frederick II., of Hohenstauffen, 338. 
Fruit-trees of Palestine, 138. 

Gad, tribe and district of, 170. 

Gadara, ruins of. 284. 

Galilee, the sea of: see Tiberias, lake. 

Galilee, province of, under the Romans, 176. 

Gath, city of, 183. 

Gaugamela, an Assyrian village, 232. 

Geba, village of, 171. 

Gennesaret, plain of, 116; its great fertility, 

117. 
Geology of Palestine, 130. 
Gerizim, mount, 92, 155. 
Geshur, city of, 197. 
Gezer or Gazer, 172. 
Gharrab, a shrub, 146. 
Ghor, El, 102. 
Gibeon, conquest of, 156. 
Gideon, 179. 
Gihon, the river, 15; pools of, 126; waters 

of, 212. 
Gilboa, mountains of, 91. 
Gilead, 169. 
Gilgal, 154. 

Glass, origin of the manufacture of, 317. 
Golan of Manasseh, 172. 
Goshen, land of, 41. 
Graecia, country of, 298. 

Haggai the prophet, 267. 
Ham, descendants of, 22. 
Hamath, entering of the kingdom of, 228 ; 

city of, 229. 
Haran, 29. 
Hasbeiya, a tributary of the Jordan, 104; 

bitumen beds near, 131. 
Hazor, 160; Mr. Thompson's theory of the 

locality of, 160. 
Hebron, 32 ; its associations, 32. 
Heliopolis (the modern Balbec), 202. 
Hermon, mount, 87, 91. 
Hermon, little, 91. 
Herod the Great, division of his kingdom at 

his death, 271. 
Heshbon, 76. 

Hezekiah, king of Judah, 252. 
Hiddekel, the river, 15. 



INDEX. 



353 



Hor, mount, 74. 

Horeb, mount, 63. 

Hoshea, king of Israel, 245. 

Huleh, lake, its general appearance, 114 ; its 

marsh, 114; its area, 115; vale of, 160. 
Hunin, fortress and village of, 161. 

Iconium, town of, 308. 

Idumea, or Edom, province of, under the 
Romans, 270. 

Illyricum, 301. 

Isaac, birth of, 30 ; pastoral life, 33 ; his death, 
34. 

Isaiah the prophet, his sketch of the pro- 
gress of the Assyrian army, 249 ; his per- 
sonification of the towns of Moab grieving 
for the desolation of the country, 250. 

Ishmael, birth of, 30 ; death, 33. 

Israel, kingdom of, its early idolatry, 216; 
war with Judah, 217 ; invaded by the Assy- 
rians, 244 ; destruction of, 245 ; colonies in, 
245 : captivity of the nation, 246. 

Israelites, Exodus of, 53; their passage of 
the Red Sea, 53; their abode in tbe wilder- 
ness, 59 ; their encampment at Sinai, 61 ; 
at Horeb, 63 ; Dr. Wilson's theory of their 
course, 67; their abode at Kadesh, 72; at 
Mount Hor, 73; smitten with a plague, 76; 
their invasion and conquest of Canaan, 
153; first distribution of the tribes, 165; 
Canaan divided amongst them, 165; their 
idolatry, 176; their condition under the 
Judges, 177; their first servitude, 178; the 
Midianitish oppression, 179; the monarchy 
established, 186. 

Issachar, character of the tribe and of their 
district, 168. 

Italia, origin of the name, 301 ; other names 
of Italy, 301; country comprised under 
the denomination, 302; divisions and boun- 
daries of, 302. 

Jabbok, the brook, 110. 

Jacob obtains the birthright, 33 ; his dream 
at Bethel, 34 ; his meeting with Esau, 35. 

Jacob's well, 127. 

Jackal, the, 149. 

Japheth, descendants of, 21. 

Jehoiakim, king of Judah, 253. 

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, 222. 

Jehoshaphat, valley of, 113. 

Jephtha, 179. 

Jerboa, the, 149. 

Jeremiah the prophet, 259. 

Jericho, plain of, 103. 

Jeroboam, king of Israel, 216. 

Jeroboam II., 228. 

Jerusalem, its origin and history, 207; its 
various names, 209 ; its situation, 209 ; sub- 
jugated by David, 209; its form and extent, 
210; enlarged and embellished by David 
and Solomon, 211; the temple, 211; de- 
struction of, by the Chaldeans, 254; by 
Titus, 323; historical associations of the 
city, 323; exact fulfilment of prophecy con- 
cerning, 325. 

Jerusalem, kingdom of, 335; its termination 
by Saladin, 336. 

Jesus : see Christ. 

Jezreel, defeat of the Syrians at, 221; events 
at, after the death of Naboth, 222. 

Jezreel, plain of: see Esdraelon. 

Jonah the prophet, 240. 

30* 



Joppa, 240. 

Jordan, valley of the, 102 ; its great depres- 
sion, 102 ; its sterility, 103 ; great heat of, 
134. 

Jordan, the river, its sources, 104 ; its course, 
105; its breadth, 106; Dr. Robinson's ac- 
count, 107; its rapids and inundations, 
108; annual rise of, 109; its tributaries, 
110. 

Joshua, conquests of, 153, et seq. ; his death, 
171. 

Josiah, king of Judah, 253. 

Judah, mountains of, 95; plain of, 101; ter- 
ritory of the tribe of, 165. 

Judah, kingdom of, 215 ; invaded by Ethio- 
pians, 218; war with Israel, 218; invaded 
by Moabites and others, 222 ; by the Israel- 
ites, Syrians, &c, 244 ; by Sennacherib, 
252; captivity under Jehoiakim, 253; the 
country during the captivity, 258; the 
return under Cyrus, 265; under Artax- 
erxes, 266. 

Judah and Israel, kings of, 215 ; history of, 
224, 244. 

Judea, mountains of, 93 ; wilderness of, 94. 

Judges, their office, 177. 

Juttah, town of, 171. 

Kadesh-Barnea, 71. 
Kedesh of Naphtali, 172. 
Keilah, town of, 190. 
Khorsabad, remains at, 239. 
Kidron, or Cedron, the brook, 113. 
Kir of Moab, 250. 
Kirjath-jearim, 174. 
Kishon, the river, 111. 
Kittim, locality of, 22. 

Lachish, 158. 

Laodicea, ruins of, 331. 

Layard, Mr., his discoveries at Nineveh, 234, 
240. 

Lebanon, mountains of, 87 ; Volney's descrip- 
tion of, 88. 

Levels, table of, 133. 

Levi, tribe of, 170. 

Levitical cities, 170. 

Libnah, town of, 171. 

Lot, residence of, 30. 

Louis IX. (St. Louis), his crusades, 339. 

Macedonia, 300. 
Machpelah, cave of, 32. 
Magdala, 286. 
Malachi the prophet, 268. 
Malta, island of, 320. 

Manasseh, tribe and territory, western por- 
tion, 169 ; eastern portion, 170. 
Manasseh, king of Judah, 253. 
Maon, ruins of. 190. 
Medeba, ruins of, 196. 
Medes, ancient kingdom of, 21. 
Megiddo, 162. 

Memnon, vocal statue of, 48. 
Mesopotamia, 25. 
Midianites, the, 79. 
Miletus, capital of Ionia, 316. 
Military orders, 335, 337. 
Mizpeh of Samuel, 184. 
Mizraim, descendants of, 23. 
Moab, land of, 75; invasion of, 249. 
Moabites, the, 78. 



354 



INDEX. 






Moses, death of, 77. 
Mulberry, the, 142. 

Naboth, death of, 222. 

Nachshivan, city of, 19. 

Nam, city of, 282. 

Naphtali, tribe and territory of, 168. 

Nations, dispersion of the, 26. 

Nazareth, its situation, &c, 273; Dr. Wilson's 
sketch of its scenery, 273 ; its associations, 
275 ; Lamartine's reflections on, 275. 

Neander, his sketch of the labours of St. 
Paul, 314, 316, 318, 320. 

Nehemiah the prophet, 267. 

No (Thebes), city of, 261. 

Noah, descendants of, 20. 

Nob, city of, 189. 

Nod, land of, 15. 

Noph, remains of, 251. 

Nile, valley of the, 37. 

Nile, the, its course and affluents, 38; its 
delta, 39 ; annual rise of, 40. 

Nimroud, remains of palace at, 233. 

Nineveh, remains of, 234; ignorance of an- 
cient historians concerning, 234 ; Mr. Lay- 
ard's discoveries at Nimroud, 234; sculp- 
tures, 235 ; black obelisk, 237 ; illustrations 
of scripture, 238; discoveries at Khorsa- 
bad, 239; destruction of the city, 239. 

Ninus (Nineveh), capital of Assyria, 231. 

Oaks of the Jordan, 144; an ancient tree 

described by Dr. Robinson, 144. 
Og, of Bash an, his defeat and death, 76. 
Oleander, the, 144. 
Olive, the, 140; its oil, 141. 

Palestine, position of, 80 ; its various names, 
80; extent, 81; boundaries, 82; physical 
geography of, 86; mountainous region, 86; 
table-lands, 90; plains, 90; rivers, 104; 
brooks, 113; lakes, 114; pools and wells, 
126; geology, 130; climate, 133; plants, 
137; animals, 147; inhabitants, 152; its 
history under the Romans, 269; its situa- 
tion after the crusades, 336, 338, 360, 361 : 
and see Canaan. 

Paradise, 14. 

Paran, wilderness of, 65. 

Pasargadas, 257. 

Patmos, island of, 327. 

Paul, St., conversion of, 306; his first mis- 
sionary tour, 308 ; his second tour, 309 ; at 
Athens, 311; controversy with St. Peter, 
314; his third tour, 315; plan of his future 
labours, 315 ; accusations against him at 
Jerusalem, 319; his voyage to Rome, 320; 
shipwrecked on the island of Melita, 320 ; 
his confinement in Rome, 322; his final 
address, 322. 

Pekah, king of Israel, 244. 

Peleg, notice of, 26. 

Perea, province of, under the Romans, 270. 

Pergamos, town of, 328. 

Persis, or Persia, description of, 256 ; inhabi- 
tants, 256; history, 256; places in, 257. 

Petra, city of, 225. 

Pharphar, a river of Damascus, 202. 

Philadelphia, town of, 331. 

Philippi, city of, 310. 

Philistines, the, 78. 

Phoenicia, its extent and boundaries, 203; 
origin of the name, 203 ; sketch of its his- 



tory, 204; commercial enterprise of its 
people, 204; the invention of letters at- 
tributed to them, 204 ; its cities independ- 
ent, 204; places in, 205. 

Phoenician plain, 98, 286, 307. 

Phoenicians, the, 78. 

Pilate, Pontius, his government of Palestine, 
271. 

Pison, the river, 15. 

Pithom, city of, 42. 

Polycarp, martyrdom of, 328. 

Pomegranate, the, 141. 

Prophets before the exile, 246; places men- 
tioned by them, 247; the later prophets, 
259. 

Ptolemais, the modern Acre, 205, 317. 

Pyramids, Egyptian, 46. 

Quails, the Israelites fed with, 60, 65; large 

flocks of, 66. 
Quarantania, mountain of, 94. 

Raamses, or Rameses, 43. 

Rain, periodical, 134. 

Ramoth-Gileacl, 172. 

Red Sea, passage of, 54. 

Refuge, cities of, 173. 

Rehoboam, king of Judah, 215; his military 

fortifications, 217. 
Rephaim, valley of, 194. 
Reptiles of Palestine, 151. 
Restoration of the Jews under Cyrus, 265 ; 

under Artaxerxes, 266. 
Reuben, tribe and territory of, 169. 
Rhodes, island of, 316. 
Riblah, remarkable monument near, 255. 
Richard Coeur-de-Lion, 337. 
Romans, their government of Palestine, 271. 
Ruth, book of, 181. 

Saladin the Great, 335, 336; his death, 337. 

Salt, pillar of, on the Dead Sea, 121. 

Salt, valley of, David's victory in, 195; Mr. 
Thompson's description of, 195. 

Samaria, city of, 219; description of its pre- 
sent state, 219 ; sieges of, 221, 245. 

Samaria, province of, under the Romans, 
270. 

Samaritans, origin of the sect, 246. 

Samson, 180. 

Samuel, his birthplace, 181. 

Sardis, ruins of, 330 ; Emerson's description 
of its scenery, 330. 

Saul anointed king, 185 ; his military expe- 
ditions, 186 ; his death, 193. 

Sebbeh, mountain of, 120. 

Seleucia, in Babylonia, 243. 

Sharon, plain of, 100. 

Sheba, locality of, 214. 

Shechem, or Sychar, its situation, 154; its 
historical associations, 155; its present 
state, 156. 

Shem, descendants of, 24. 

Shiloh, Dr. Robinson's account of, 174. 

Shrubs of Palestine, 145. 

Shur, wilderness of, 57. 

Shushan, 264. 

Sidon, city of, 205. 

Siloam, pool of, 126. 

Simeon, tribe and territory of, 166. 

Sin, wilderness of, 59. 

Sin, on the Nile, 263. 

Sinai, desert of, 50. 



INDEX. 



355 



Sinai, mount, 60 ; Dr. Robinson's ascent of, 
61 ; description of, 63. 

Siniatic mountain group, 58. 

Sirocco, the, 134. 

Smyrna, 328. 

Sodom, plain of, 124. 

Solanum, a shrub, 146. 

Solomon, reign of, 207 ; his commissaries, 
2i2; extent of his empire, 213; his forti- 
fied cities, 21 3 ; his commercial cities, 214 ; 
his death, 214. 

Solomon, pools of, 126. 

Sphinxes, Egyptian, 47. 

Spina Christi, 146. 

Stephen, martyrdom of, 306. 

Stink-stone, 131. 

St. Paul's Bay, 321. 

Succoth, 35. 

Sugar-cane, 142. 

Sycamore, the, 145. 

Syene, 263. 

Syracuse, 321. 

Syria, its early history, 199 ;" its situation, 
199 ; its divisions, 199. 

Syria, modern, its climate, 343 ; productions, 
343; fruit-trees, 344; forests, 344; domestic 
animals, 344 ; wild animals, 345 ; minerals, 
345; inhabitants, 345; religious sects, 346; 
nomadic tribes, 346; Beduius, 347; Turk- 
mans, 348 ; Kurds, 348 ; divisions and prin- 
cipal towns, 349. 

Syrian empire, overthrow of, 245. 



Tabor, mount, 91. 
Tadmor. remains of, 213. 
Tarshish, 22. 
Tekoa, wilderness of, 95. 
Tekoah, town of, 197. 
Temperature, average, of Palestine, 135. 

Terebinth, description of a, by Dr. Bobinson, I Ziph, wilderness of, 190, 
144. ' Zoan, city and field of, 252. 



Thessalonica, 311. 

Thracia, 300. 

Thyatira, town of, 329. 

Tiberias, lake, its names and dimensions, 

115; its fish, 116; fertility of its banks, 

117 ; Dr. Wilson's notice of, 132; Dr. Olin's 

description of its scenery, 283. 
Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, his conquest 

of Syria and Galilee, 245. 
Tih, Dr. Wilson's passage over the, 69. 
Tobacco, 142. 
Tophet, 259. 

Treasure cities, Pharaoh's, 42. 
Tripolis, 206. 
Tyrus, city of, 205. 

Ur of the Chaldees, 29. 
Uriah, death of, 196. 

Usdum, land of, its pillar of salt, 121 ; deso- 
lation of, 122; salt mountain of, 225. 

Vegetables, 138. 

Vegetation of Palestine, 136, 137. 

Vine, the, 138. 

White Promontory, the, 99. 
Winds, periodica], 134. 
Wubar, the, 149. 

Yarmuk, the brook, 110. 

Year, its sixfold division in the Talmud, 136. 



Zared, the, 69. 

Zebulun, tribe and district of, 168. 

Zechariah, the prophet, 267. 

Zedekiah, king of Judah, 254 

Zidon, 2S6. 

Ziklag, town of, 192. 



THE END. 






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